UC-NRLF 


^B    17    TD7 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  witii  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/educationofgirlsOObremricli 


EDUCATION 

OF 

GIRLS   AND   WOMEN 

IN    GREAT    BRITAIN 


EDUCATION 


OF 


GIRLS    AND   WOMEN 

IN    GREAT    BRITAIN 


BY 

C,    S.   BREMNER 
With  a  Preface  by  Miss  E.  P.  Hughes. 


LONDON 

SWAN    SONNENSCHEIN    &    CO.,    LiM. 

1897 


K 


^ 


V^ 


^0 


PREFACE 

In  tracing  the  history  of  any  movement,  the  rate  of 
development  at  different  periods  varies  strikingly.  There 
may  be  no  growth  for  a  long  time ;  occasionally  the  tide 
of  progress  may  appear  even  to  flow  back ;  the  spirit  of 
a  great  reform  dies  out,  and  the  customs  and  traditions 
which  have  grown  up  around  that  reform  become  a  dead 
weight  to  hamper  progress.  Then  faint  signs  of  life 
are  to  be  seen  by  those  who  are  on  the  watch,  half- 
hearted protests  against  traditions,  here  and  there 
revolts  quickly  quelled,  and  some  discontent.  These 
are  promises  of  future  life  and  vigour.  Suddenly  the 
scene  is  changed,  or  rather,  it  appears  to  be  sudden  to 
the  casual  observer;  it  is  but  the  ending  of  a  series  of 
events  to  those  \vho  have  watched  carefully.  We  have 
an  outburst  of  Utopian  schemes,  many  brave  beginnings, 
and  many  failures.  All  seems  chaos  for  the  time  being ; 
currents  cross  and  re-cross ;  the  eternal  struggle  between 
the  conservative  element  and  the  progressive  element 
in  humanity  is  intensified.  Gradually  out  of  disorder 
comes  order  and  rest.  But  the  world  is  not  as  it 
was :  the  trend  of  progress  is  altered ;  new  forces  have 
probably  come  into  operation. 

What  is  true  of  other  aspects  of  history,  is  true  also 
of    the  educational   aspect.      The  latter  half    of   this 


^■61816 


vi  PREFACE 

century  has  seen  great  changes,  some  of  them  revolu- 
tionary, in  the  education  of  the  British  people.  It  has 
also  seen  the  beginning  of  still  greater  changes.  Fifty 
years  ago  there  was  much  stagnation.  To-day  there  is 
much  life,  some  bewilderment,  and  what  appears  to 
many  to  be  an  ever-increasing  chaos.  A  large  number 
of  educational  problems  are  being  formulated,  and  many 
of  them  must,  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  be  solved 
quickly,  either  badly,  indifferently,  or  well.  Time  will 
possibly  provide  a  solution  for  some  of  them  without  our 
actual  interference;  but  the  majority  require  careful 
thought  and  conscious  effort,  if  they  are  to  be  solved 
satisfactorily.  A  wide  knowledge  of  the  educational 
state  of  the  country,  together  with  some  knowledge  of 
that  which  preceded  the  present  state  of  affairs,  will  be 
of  great  use  in  such  a  momentous  period  as  the  present. 
Miss  Bremner  has  given  us  a  valuable  contribution 
towards  such  knowledge,  for  which  she  deserves  the 
gratitude  of  all  those  whose  responsible  duty  it  will  be 
to  mould  the  future  of  our  educational  development. 
Only  those  who  have  for  some  special  purpose  attempted 
to  collect  information  on  the  state  of  education  in  Great 
Britain  can  appreciate  the  time,  care,  and  patience  which 
the  writing  of  such  a  book  as  this  entails. 

Change  has  been  visible  in  every  sphere  of  education ; 
it  has  been  most  strongly  marked  in  the  Secondary 
Education  of  girls  and  women.  In  Elementary  Educa- 
tion, both  in  the  immediate  past  and  in  the  present, 
there  has  been  no  considerable  difference  between  the 
education  of  girls  and  that  of  boys,  nor  between  the 
education  of  men  and  women  teachers.  In  Secondary 
Education,  the  difference  in  both  spheres  has  been  very 


PREFACE  vu 

marked  in  the  past,  and  is  still  considerable ;  as  a  result, 
there  is  probably  less  contact  between  the  men  and 
women  teachers  engaged  in  Secondary  Education  than 
between  those  engaged  in  Elementary  Education. 
Partly  as  a  result  of  this  isolation,  the  development  of 
Secondary  Education  for  girls  in  England  has  been  of  a 
somewhat  special  kind,  and  has  special  interest  for  those 
who  are  studying  the  subject.  Lately  an  increasing 
number  of  foreigners  have  visited  England  for  the 
purpose  of  seeing  our  educational  establishments.  The 
foreigner  who  comes  to  study  English  education  de- 
serves our  pity.  Many  are  the  difficulties  which  lie 
before  him.  In  Elementary  Education  he  has  to  com- 
prehend two  different  schemes  working  concurrently  all 
over  the  kingdom.  Voluntary  and  Board  schools. 
When  he  has  surmounted  this  difficulty,  and  enters 
the  field  of  Secondary  Education,  despair  may  well 
seize  both  his  instructor  and  himself.  Many  secondary 
teachers  in  England  know  little  of  the  educational  life 
outside  their  own  special  sphere.  What  does  a  High 
School  mistress  usually  know  of  the  education  given 
at  this  present  moment  at  Winchester?  How  far  can 
an  assistant  master  from  one  of  our  great  public  schools 
describe  accurately  how  life  goes  on  in  one  of  our 
private  commercial  schools?  It  is  very  difficult  for 
the  intelligent  foreigner  to  get  information,  and  even 
difficult  to  see  the  real  connection  between  the  facts 
which  he  collects.  Thanks  to  this  book,  a  foreigner 
can  for  the  future  obtain  easily  some  insight  into  the 
education  of  girls  and  women  in  Britain. 

It  has  been  said,  with  much  truth,  that  the  members 
of  a  civilized  community  are  so  closely  linked  to  one 


viii  PREFACE 

another  that  no  section  can  progress  safely  far  beyond 
the  rest  of  the  community.  In  other  words,  it  seems  to 
be  true  that  safe  and  permanent  progress  is  only  possible 
when  the  rear  guard  and  the  advance  guard  are  con- 
nected by  intermediate  sections,  all  in  touch  one  with 
the  other.  If  this  be  true,  the  education  of  the  less 
educated  half  of  the  nation,  girls  and  women,  must 
have  a  special  interest.  If  the  pace  of  the  rear  guard 
affects  the  pace  of  the  advance  guard,  it  is  everybody's 
interest  to  see  that  the  pace  of  the  rear  guard  be 
quickened.  To  attain  this  end,  it  might  be  well  worth 
while  to  divide  the  ancient  educational  endowments,  at 
one  time  enjoyed  by  boys  only,  between  boys  and  girls. 
If  we  are  believers  in  that  greatest  of  educators,  the  life 
of  the  home,  it  is  better  to  spend  a  little  less  money  on 
boys'  education,  and  help  the  girls,  rather  than  doom 
the  boys  to  live  in  homes  governed  by  badly  educated 
mothers  and  wives.  The  education  of  girls  is  not 
merely  a  woman's  question — thoughtful  men  have  never 
so  regarded  it.  It  is  a  human  question,  one  that  con- 
cerns every  one.  This  book,  although  it  deals  only 
with  the  education  of  girls  and  women,  should  therefore 
be  studied  by  all  those  who  are  interested  in  education. 
Just  at  the  present  moment  Secondary  Education  in 
England  requires  more  consideration  than  Elementary 
Education  :  the  latter  is  organized,  the  former  is  not. 
It  is  a  truism  that  organization  gives  enormous  power. 
A  constant,  wide,  ever-deepening  stream  of  state-aid  and 
rate-aid  is  passing  to  the  latter;  only  a  tiny  streamlet 
to  the  former.  Already  it  is  not  an  uncommon  sight  to 
come  across  an  elementary  school  in  better  buildings, 
and  better  equipped,  than  a  secondary  school  in  the 


PREFACE  ix 

same  town.  We  are  so  accustomed  to  the  fact  that 
our  Education  Department  only  concerns  itself  with 
Elementary  Education,  that  we  may  fail  to  realize  how 
Secondary  Education  is  affected  by  it.  To  many  of 
us  it  is  a  fact  of  the  profoundest  significance  that 
political  enfranchisement  has  come  to  the  working-man 
in  England  before  educational  enfranchisement,  and  the 
educational  results  for  the  time  being  may  be  serious. 
Can  we  expect  the  average  man  who  has  never  enjoyed 
the  benefits  of  Secondary  Education,  to  realize  its 
enormous  value  to  the  nation  ?  It  is  difficult  at  present 
to  show  its  value,  because  our  Secondary  Education  has 
been  largely  a  class  education,  and  as  such,  its  national 
value  cannot  easily  be  demonstrated  to  a  democracy. 
When  Secondary  Education  is  given  in  England  to 
those  clever  boys  and  girls  from  our  elementary  schools, 
who  can  really  utilise  it,  it  will  then  be  comparatively 
easy  to  show  its  national  importance;  but  until  that 
time  it  is  placed  at  a  serious  disadvantage.  Yet  it  is 
obviously  of  the  greatest  importance  to  protect  most 
carefully  our  secondary  schools  and  universities.  They 
are  the  depositories  of  the  traditions,  the  culture,  and 
the  learning  of  the  past,  and  are  therefore  of  unique 
importance.  But  in  order  to  protect  wisely  we  must 
understand,  and  know  something  about,  Secondary 
Education.  This  work  on  the  education  of  girls  and 
women  is  of  considerable  value,  in  that  it  gives  us  a 
fairly  complete  picture  of  a  part  of  the  Secondary 
Education  of  the  British  Isles. 

Every  country  has,  no  doubt,  its  special  contribution 
to  make  to  the  education  of  the  world.  The  British 
Empire,  with  its  enormous  colonies  and  dependencies 


X  PREFACE 

in  every  continent  and  in  every  climate,  with  their 
widely-different  forms  of  government,  has  probably  for 
its  special  educational  mission  to  keep  awake  a  healthy 
dread  of  over-centralization  in  matters  educational ;  a 
strong  belief  in  home  rule  in  education;  a  firm  faith 
in  liberty — liberty  of  conscience,  freedom  of  method, 
room  for  individuality,  development,  and  self-govern- 
ment. If  this  is  the  British  educational  gospel,  it  is 
one  worth  preaching.  During  the  last  half-century  a 
large  number  of  secondary  schools  for  girls  have  sprung 
up  in  England.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  on  the 
whole  they  have  been  true  to  English  traditions.  Our 
girls'  High  Schools  are  not  mere  copies  of  the  boys' 
Grammar  Schools ;  there  is  differentiation  among  them, 
and  considerable  individuality.  Women  secondary 
teachers,  considering  their  disadvantages,  have  taken 
their  full  share  in  developing  education  in  England. 

That  educational  progress,  which  has  been  so  marked 
in  England,  has  also  been  taking  place  in  other  civilized 
countries;  but  in  the  higher  education  of  girls  and 
women  England  at  the  present  moment  probably  stands 
fiirst.  Our  progress  in  this  department  has  been  ex- 
ceptionally rapid,  and  is  probably  due  largely  to  the 
unusual  wisdom  of  the  pioneers  of  the  movement. 
Time  has  already  robbed  us  of  many  of  that  little 
band  of  earnest  men  and  women  who  initiated  the 
movement  in  England;  but  some  are,  fortunately,  still 
with  us.  When  the  time  comes  to  write  a  history  of 
English  education  in  the  nineteenth  century,  it  will  be 
a  very  bright  page  that  will  record  the  first  steps  taken 
in  obtaining  a  higher  education  for  girls  and  women. 
Our  pioneers  toiled  unceasingly ;  they  did  more,  they 


PREFACE  xi 

waited  patiently  till  times  were  ripe.  They  aroused  no 
unnecessary  friction  ;  slowly  and  surely  they  won  a 
victory,  with  results  so  great  that  we  can  at  present  only 
dimly  guess  at  them.  Now  that  a  younger  generation 
of  women  are  coming  to  the  front  to  face  the  new 
problems  of  the  day,  it  is  exceedingly  appropriate  that 
we  should  look  back  to  those  early  days.  In  this  book 
some  insight  is  given  us  into  these  first  stages  of 
progress,  which  must  have  an  intense  interest  for  those 
who  are  at  present  beginning  to  reap  the  harvest  which 
that  pioneer  band  sowed  in  great  faith  and  in  much 
anxiety. 

There  are  probably  at  least  four  classes  of  persons 
who  will  find  an  interest  in  this  book  : — 

(i)  British  teachers  of  all  kinds,  who  will  be  enabled 
by  its  means  to  get  a  fair  survey  of  the  education  of  the 
British  Isles.  That  such  information  is  necessary  can 
be  doubted  by  no  one  who  takes  the  trouble  to  find  out 
how  far  the  ordinary  teacher  realizes  the  differences 
existing  between  the  various  systems  of  education  in 
England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  Wales. 

(2)  Our  fellow-teachers  in  other  parts  of  the  British 
Empire.  It  is  a  great  loss  to  the  Empire,  politically 
and  educationally,  that  its  teachers  know  so  little  of 
the  state  of  education  in  the  different  countries  which 
make  up  that  Empire.  An  EngUshwoman  has  now 
made  it  easy  for  our  fellow-teachers  to  understand  a 
good  deal  about  the  present  state  of  Secondary  Educa- 
tion for  girls  in  the  home  country.  It  is  much  to  be 
desired  that  Colonial  teachers  would  issue  companion 
volumes,  giving  us  information  about  Colonial  education. 
Blue  Books  are  not  generally  considered  to  be  very 


xii  PREFACE 

interesting  by  the  average  teacher ;  but  the  facts  to  be 
found  in  them,  enlivened  and  made  graphic  by  personal 
experience,  are  often  of  the  very  greatest  interest. 

(3)  Foreigners  who  desire  to  understand  the  present 
state  of  English  education. 

(4)  And  finally,  all  those  interested  in  educational 
progress — parents,  teachers,  politicians,  and  social  re- 
formers. 

Behind  us  lie  the  gallant  efforts  of  our  pioneer 
women ;  around  us,  the  surging  chaos  of  to-day's  pro- 
blems ;  before  us,  difficulties  many  and  great.  It  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  at  the  present  moment  for  us  to 
clearly  realize  that  the  future  is  largely  in  our  hands ; 
and,  in  order  to  build  for  that  future  a  satisfactory 
structure,  we  must  know  the  present,  and  understand 
something  of  the  past.  Miss  Bremner's  survey  has 
come  at  a  most  opportune  moment,  and  is  hkely  to 
stimulate  considerably  the  ever-growing  interest  in 
education,  which  is  one  of  the  most  marked  features 
of  our  time. 

E.  P.  HUGHES. 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE 


This  little  book  is  a  rather  late  outcome  of  the 
International  Congress  of  Education  held  at  Chicago 
in  1893.  Some  of  our  American  sisters  (the  National 
Council  of  Women,  U.S.A.)  conceived  the  brilliant  idea 
of  publishing  a  whole  set  of  reports  dealing  with  the 
education  of  girls  and  women  in  all  civilized  countries. 
Lady  Henry  Somerset  and  Miss  Frances  Willard,  whose 
interest  in  what  affects  the  well-being  of  their  sex  is 
well  known,  asked  me  to  undertake  education  in  Great 
Britain;  and  it  is  to  this  circumstance  that  this  book 
owes  its  existence.  I  sought  diligently  for  such  a  book 
as  this,  failed  to  find  it,  was  assured  by  the  publishers 
whom  I  consulted  that  such  books  do  not  pay,  and  are 
therefore  not  written,  and  finally  sat  down  to  the  lengthy 
undertaking  of  collecting  the  facts  myself.  When  it 
was  finished,  the  American  sisters  had  no  funds  where- 
with to  publish  it.  I  sought  the  advice  of  Miss  E.  P. 
Hughes,  of  Cambridge,  and  of  an  English  publisher, 
rewrote  my  work  since  it  was  now  for  the  English 
market  and  required  enlargement.  I  mention  these 
circumstances  because  they  have  laid  me  under  heavy 
obligations  to  the  many  persons  who  have  supplied  me 
with  information.  I  had  to  appeal  to  them  twice  for 
facts,  figures,  dates. 

In  especial  I  have  to  thank  for  their  ready  help  and 
courtesy,  officials  of  the  Education  Department,  of  the 


xiv  AUTHORS  PREFACE 

Science  and  Art  Department,  and  Charity  Commission ; 
the  heads  of  colleges,  schools,  boards,  and  institutions 
named  in  this  book,  who  almost  all  helped  me  in 
every  possible  way;  especially  Mr.  G.  W.  Alexander, 
Clerk  to  the  School  Board  for  Glasgow,  and  Miss  Jane 
Galloway,  of  Queen  Margaret  College,  Glasgow,  who 
have  furnished  the  Second  Part,  dealing  with  Scottish 
education;  Miss  Hughes  for  the  Preface  and  much 
excellent  advice.  My  helpers  are  of  course  in  no  way 
responsible  for  my  opinions,  inferences,  and  deductions. 

Unfortunately  we  have  been  unable  to  obtain  an 
account  of  education  in  Ireland  on  the  same  conditions 
as  the  Scottish  section  is  supplied :  mere  devotion  to 
education.  If  another  edition  of  this  book  were  called 
for,  the  omission  might  be  rectified. 

It  is  too  much  to  expect  that  a  book  of  this  kind 
should  be  free  of  error.  I  shall  esteem  it  a  favour  if  all 
errors  are  pointed  out  to  me  by  readers,  so  that  I  may 
be  able  to  correct  them,  if  the  opportunity  present 
itself. 

During  my  visits  to  colleges  and  schools  I  was  over 
and  over  again  struck  by  the  isolation  in  which  women 
teachers  work.  Many  able  and  accomplished  women 
know  little  of  the  world  of  education  outside  the  corner 
of  the  vineyard  which  engrosses  their  attention.  Should 
this  book  help  to  bridge  that  isolation,  I  shall  be  well 
satisfied. 

C.   S.   BREMNER. 

March,   1897. 


CONTENTS 


PAGI£ 


Introductory  .  .  .  .  .        .        i 

EDUCATION  IN  ENGLAND  AND  WALES 


13 

70 
122 
164 
220 


I.    Elementary  or  Primary  Education 
II.    Secondary  Education 

III.  Higher  Education 

IV.  Technico-Professional  Education  . 

Conclusion 

^art  M 

EDUCATION  IN  SCOTLAND 

SECTION 

I.  Primary  Education  .  ...  229 

II.  Secondary  Education         .  ...  249 

III.  Higher  Education  ...  264 

IV.  Technical  and  Professional  Education    .        .  274 

Index  .  .  .  ...    287 


Education  of  Girls  and  Women 

IN    GREAT    BRITAIN 

INTRODUCTOiiY^^t%{  :y,^ 

The  education  of  girls  and  women  remained  entirely 
in  the  hands  of  the  Church  up  to  the  time  of  the 
Reformation.  For  a  long  period  the  Church  controlled 
the  education  of  boys,  although  gradually  a  lay  element 
was  introduced.  Thus  the  Chantry  schools,  which 
existed  in  cathedral  towns,  were  partly  managed  by 
the  laity.  Towns  were  rising  apart  from  monasteries, 
whose  wealth,  influence,  and  ever-widening  liberties 
had  to  be  reckoned  with ;  Franciscans  and  Dominicans 
visited  them  and  helped  on  the  education  of  the  young. 
Grammar  schools  were  multiplying.  When  Eton  was 
founded  in  1441  there  already  existed  eight;  by  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  their  number  was 
very  considerable,  and  at  the  end  of  James  I.'s  reign 
there  were  probably  more  than  300. 

Moreover,  the  universities  were  another  power  rising 
to  a  position  of  great  importance.  Excluding  hostels, 
Oxford  has  now  23  colleges;  15  of  these  were  in  ex- 
istence in  1539,  the  date  of  the  final  dissolution  of  the 


2  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

monasteries.  The  quarrel  between  regulars  and  seculars 
is  well  known ;  occasionally  a  new  college  was  founded 
by  a  bishop  as  a  practical  protest  against  the  narrowness 
of  monastic  learning.  Cambridge,  of  more  recent  date 
than  Oxford,  has  seventeen  colleges;  thirteen  were  in 
existence  in  1539. 

The  consideration  of  the  above  facts,  and  the  know- 
ledge that  for  girls  there  existed  absolutely  no 
organised  education  outside  the  nunnery  schools,  show 
us  that  the  destruction  of  the  inonasteries  affected  the 
sexes  differently.  The  Dissolution  found  women  quite 
unprepared,  and  dealt  their  education  such  a  severe 
blow,  that  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  it  passed  under 
a  cloud  for  300  years.  Boys  lost  something  by  the 
destruction  of  the  monasteries;  girls  lost  everything. 
The  latter  were  not  prepared  to  go  to  the  new  seats 
of  learning,  even  had  these  been  prepared  to  receive 
them. 

It  is  true  that  monastic  life  was  decaying,  becoming 
more  and  more  divorced  from  the  solid  interests  of 
life.  The  nuns  especially  were  immersed  in  religious 
routine ;  they  were  landing  themselves  in  one  of  life's 
backwaters.  Important  boarding-schools  were  attached 
to  some  of  the  nunneries,  where  the  daughters  of  gentle 
people  received  what  then  passed  for  a  good  education. 
Day  schools  would  also  seem  to  have  been  conducted 
at  some  nunneries,  notably  the  Convent  of  St.  Helen, 
in  Bishopsgate,  and  that  of  St.  Mary,  Kilburn. 

According  to  the  Benedictine  rule  children  were 
taught  between  prime  and  tierce,  probably  5  to  8  a.m. 


INTRODUCTORY  3 

Nunneries  received  people  of  different  social  condi- 
tions, and  it  may  well  have  been  that  wealthy  convents 
conducted  boarding-schools,  attended  by  the  daughters 
of  the  nobility,  whilst  the  poorer  ones  had  merely  day 
schools  attached. 

The  Church  gave  great  honour  to  the  professed  ;  they 
and  their  pupils  were  addressed  as  "  madame "  or 
"ladye."  Chaucer's  miller's  wife  had  been  "i-fostyrd  in 
a  nonnerye,  and  whom  no  one  durst  call  but  madame." 
The  nuns  enjoyed  the  esteem  and  affection  of  their 
contemporaries.  The  Pilgrimage  of  Grace  in  1536  had 
amongst  its  objects  the  restoration  of  the  nunneries. 
In  the  eighth  century  the  Bishop  of  Sherbourne  wrote 
the  "Praise  of  Virgins,"  telling  them  that  even  in 
outward  appearance  they  surpass  their  married  sisters. 
"Virginity  is  of  gold,  chastity  is  of  silver,  marriage 
is  of  brass."  In  one  place  he  addresses  the  nuns 
as  "Flowers  of  the  Church,  sisters  of  monastic  life, 
scholarly  pupils,  pearls  of  Christ,  jewels  of  Paradise, 
and  sharers  of  the  Eternal  Home."  * 

Nor  was  Ealdhelm  the  only  one  impressed  with  the 
beauty  of  the  nun's  life.  Boniface  so  admired'  the 
character  and'  ability  of  English  nuns  as  rulers  that 
he  took  many  of  them  abroad  to  help  in  the  work  of 
organizing  Germany  for  the  Church  of  Rome.  In  a 
word,  the  Church  found  an  outlet  for  women's 
abilities,  and  stamped  their  labour  with  its  high 
approval. 

*  See  Miss  Eckenstein's  able  work,  Woman  under  Mon- 
asHcism. 


EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

It  would  be  wrong  to  suppose  that  no  education  was 
possible  for  women,  save  such  as  the  nunneries  afforded. 
In  his  thirty-fourth  letter  Osbert  de  Clare  writes  of  a 
lady  who  was  a  governess  in  Stephen's  reign,  and 
who  seems  to  have  been  treated  as  one  of  the  family. 
Home  education  dates  from  a  very  early  period. 
In  Women  in  English  Life^  Miss  G.  Hill  tells  us  that 
in  mediaeval  times  the  demoiselle  could  often  read 
with  fair  fluency,  while  the  damoiseau,  under  the 
same  roof,  was  unable  to  sign  his  name  and  to  spell 
out  the  words  of  his  breviary.  This  would  partly 
arise  from  a  division  between  the  work  of  man  and 
woman :  fighting  and  the  world  of  sport  for  him, 
home  and  its  occupations  for  her;  and  partly  from 
the  fact  that  many  manor  houses  boarded  a  clerk,  or 
chaplain,  who  acted  as  tutor  to  the  young  people. 
Doubtless,  in  many  cases,  the  girls  would  be  found 
more  docile  than  the  boys.  Sir  Thomas  More,  as  is 
well  known,  taught  his  daughters  to  be  proficient 
Greek  and  Latin  scholars. 

The  honour  rendered  by  the  Church  to  single 
women  was  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  Reformers.  In 
the  thirteenth  century  the  author  of  Holy  Maidenhood 
had  called  the  nun  the  free  woman ;  the  wife,  the  slave. 
Erasmus  styled  the  nun  the  slave ;  the  wife,  and  indeed 
all  those  outside  the  convent,  free.  Miss  Eckenstein 
points  out  how,  under  Wolsey  and  Cromwell,  the 
grossest  charges  against  monastic  life  were,  in  certain 
quarters,  at  once  accepted  as  clearly  proved.  Sir 
Thomas   More's  refutation  of  these  charges,  and   his 


INTRODUCTORY  5 

severe  criticism  of  Luther,  passed  unnoticed  at  the 
time.  Even  Wolsey  received  censure  from  the  King 
for  indecent  haste  in  grasping  monastic  property.  The 
stupid  falsehood  that  nunneries  were  commonly  the 
refuge  of  the  profligate  must  be  dismissed  as  baseless. 
The  Church  had  herself  often  held  visitations  to  correct 
monastic  abuses,  usually  proceeding,  as  far  as  nunneries 
were  concerned,  from  inability  of  the  prioress  to  ad- 
minister. The  Commissioners  who  wrote  to  Cromwell 
touching  Catesby,  could  only  say  they  found  the  house 
in  perfect  order.*  The  same  was  true  of  the  White 
Ladies  at  Gracedieu;  in  Cumberland,  rebels  restored 
the  nunnery  at  Seton ;  in  Yorkshire,  the  people  favoured 
nunneries  because  "  our  daughters  are  there  brought  up 
in  virtue,"  as  Roger  Aske  phrased  it. 

Gasquet,  the  historian  of  Henry  VIIL's  reign, 
declares  that  "  in  the  convents  the  female  portion  of 
the  population  found  their  only  teachers,  the  rich  as 
well  as  the  poor;  and  the  destruction  of  these  re- 
ligious houses  by  Henry  was  the  absolute  extinction 
of  any  systematic  education  for  women  during  a  long 
period." 

The  divine.  Fuller,  who  died  in  1661,  lived  to 
recognize  that  the  loss  women  suffered  at  the  Reforma- 
tion was  heavy.  Speaking  of  the  convents,  he  writes, 
"They  were  good  she  schools,  wherein  the  girls  and 
maids  of  the  neighbourhood  were  taught  to  read  and 
work;  and  sometimes  a  little  Latin  was  taught  them 

*  See  Miss  Eckenstein's  chapter  on  the  Dissolution  in  England, 
in  Woman  under  Monasticism. 


6  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN 

therein.  Yea,  give  me  leave  to  say,  if  such  feminine 
foundations  had  still  continued,  provided  no  vow  were 
obtruded  upon  them  (virginity  is  least  kept  where  it 
is  most  constrained),  haply  the  weaker  sex,  besides  the 
avoiding  modern  inconveniences,  might  be  heightened 
to  a  higher  perfection  than  hitherto  has  been  attained." 

It  cannot  for  a  moment  be  denied  that  with  the 
Reformation  lay  the  path  of  progress;  and  yet  women 
may  regret  that  the  Reformers  laid  such  stress  upon  the 
theory  that  there  is  no  career  for  them  outside  wifehood 
and  motherhood.  Single  women  have  often  been  in 
the  van  in  movements  affecting  their  sex ;  wives  and 
mothers  profit  by  their  devotion  and  enthusiasm.  Is 
it  too  much  to  attribute  a  large  part  of  England's 
depressed  position  in  the  educational  world,  which  has 
lasted  far  into  the  nineteenth  century,  and  from  which 
she  is  only  now  emerging,  as  in  some  measure  due  to 
the  failure  of  Reformers  to  use  and  dignify  in  social 
work  the  unmarried  woman  ? 

With  the  theory  just  stated,  grew  up  that  other 
belittling  idea,  that  education  is  unnecessary  for  women ; 
that  since  they  are  destined  for  home  life,  it  would  be 
useless,  and  even  injurious,  to  cultivate  their  intelligence. 
John  Lyon,  the  founder  of  Harrow  Grammar  School, 
in  157 1,  expressly  excludes  girls  from  the  benefits  of 
his  foundation.  They  seem  to  have  had  only  a  small 
share  in  the  many  grammar  schools  founded  in  the 
reigns  of  Henry  VIII.,  Edward  VI.,  and  Elizabeth, 
when  the  power  of  the  Church  of  Rome  was  crippled, 
and  her  vast  wealth  confiscated. 


INTRODUCTORY  7 

On  this  point,  Richard  Mulcaster,  master  of  the 
Merchant  Taylors'  School  founded  in  1561,  says:  "I 
set  not  young  maidens  to  public  Grammar  Scholes,  a 
thing  not  used  in  my  countrie,  I  send  them  not  to  the 
universities,  having  no  president  thereof,"  and  goes  on 
to  explain  that,  all  the  same,  young  maidens  must  be 
taught  to  read  and  write,  and  that  these  branches,  as 
well  as  music  and  languages,  have  a  right  to  be  expected 
of  them.  "  I  dare  be  bould  therefore  to  admit  young 
maidens  to  learne,  seeing  my  country  gives  me  leave 
and  her  custome  standes  for  me.  Their  natural  toward- 
nesse  (aptitude)  should  make  us  see  them  well  brought 
up."  (See  Miss  Hill's  chapter  on  the  Scholars  of  the 
Sixteenth  Century,  Women  in  English  Life.) 

The  whole  subject  of  women's  education  up  to  recent 
times  is  still  unexplored  territory.  It  probably  varied 
very  much  at  different  epochs  and  in  different  families. 
Though  excluded  from  the  grammar  schools,  and  bereft 
of  the  education  nunneries  at  one  time  afforded,  it  may 
well  have  been  that  girls  received  in  their  own  homes  a 
very  fair  education  of  the  kind  we  now  term  technical. 
Those  who  worked  at  home  had  not  only  to  under- 
take ordinary  housework  and  cooking,  but  spinning  and 
weaving  in  early  times,  and  until  comparatively  recently 
baked  the  bread,  made  jams,  pickles,  wines,  pickled  and 
salted  meats,  brewed,  culled  simples,  made  essences 
and  decoctions,  knew  a  little  about  surgery  and 
medicine  in  its  easier  forms,  washed  and  dressed  the 
linen,  made  candles  as  well  as  all  sorts  of  garments. 
Most  of  these  occupations  are  now  swept  right  out  of 


8  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

the  home ;  but  as  long  as  they  were  home  duties,  women 
must  have  found  plenty  of  scope  for  their  activity. 

Probably  few  but  the  gifted  could  derive  real  benefit 
from  the  sort  of  schooling  that  too  often  prevailed  in 
grammar  schools.  It  may  have  been  that  home 
education  under  a  clever  housewife  was  more  truly 
educative  than  much  that  was  labelled  education.  We 
know,  because  the  Schools  Enquiry  Commission  of 
1865-67  tells  us  so,  that  boys  in  grammar  schools 
sometimes  studied  Latin  five  years,  and  left  school 
unable  to  read  the  language.  No  doubt  girls  picked 
up  a  little  English  reading  and  writing  at  their 
mother's  knee ;  their  spelling  was  curious,  and  evidently 
original. 

Women  of  rank  had  a  better  opportunity.  We  are 
told  of  the  learning  of  the  Lady  Mary,  of  Elizabeth, 
and  Lady  Jane  Grey,  which,  since  they  were  exalted 
personages,  may  easily  have  been  exaggerated.  But, 
speaking  of  women  generally,  the  Renascence  failed 
to  touch  them.  Both  the  men  and  women  of  the 
time  were  agreed  that  learning  was  not  for  women. 
The  great  Revival  only  reaches  them  in  the  nine- 
teenth century,  the  natural  and  necessary  complement 
of  the  Renascence  movement.  It  grew  narrower  and 
narrower  without  them :  first  narrowed  to  one  sex, 
then  to  a  class.  We  may  take  the  189  signatures  to 
a  memorial  presented  to  the  Schools  Enquiry  Com- 
mission in  1867,  the  majority  of  which  belonged  to 
the  educated  men  of  the  country,  in  favour  of  the 
"foundation  of  a  place  of  education  for  adult  female 


INTRODUCTORY  9 

Students,"  as  a  definite  acknowledgment  that  education 
for  one  sex  had  spelt  failure — that  in  future  it  must 
be  for  all.  By  a  singular  coincidence,  that  very  year 
the  working  classes  were  enfranchised.  From  that 
date  onwards  the  summarized  story  of  women's  educa- 
tion is  the  removal  of  barriers. 

To  the  seventeenth  century,  after  the  failure  of 
Puritanism  to  impress  itself  on  the  nation  as  a  whole, 
we  may  trace  the  rise  of  the  idea  that  women  must 
be  accomplished,  render  themselves  socially  attractive, 
play,  sing,  speak  foreign  tongues,  dance;  such  accom- 
plishments were  called  *' virtues."  Even  these  some 
people  blamed  :  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  for  instance.  They 
thought  that  a  woman  needed  to  know  nothing  save 
what  pertained  to  housewifery;  to  read  Sir  Philip 
Sidney's  Arcadia  was  going  beyond  the  bounds. 

Protest  was  often  made  against  the  ignorance  of 
women  both  by  their  own  sex  and  by  men.  Mary 
Astell,  in  1694,  bitterly  complains  that  men  denied 
education  to  women.  In  the  eighteenth  century,  surely 
the  nadir  of  women's  education,  Lady  Mary  Wortley 
Montagu  utters  the  same  plaint,  bewailing  the  neglect 
of  women's  minds,  and  the  universal  ridicule  poured 
on  a  learned  woman.  "  It  is  criminal,"  she  writes, 
"to  try  to  improve  a  woman's  reason,"  and  complains 
of  the  indulgence  extended  to  women's  defects,  thereby 
preventing  improvement.  Writing  to  her  daughter 
about  the  education  of  a  grand-daughter,  she  says, 
with  some  bitterness,  that  "if  there  was  a  common- 
wealth of  rational  horses,  it  would  be  an  established 


10  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

maxim  among  them  that  a  mare  could  not  be  taught  to 
pace."  Earlier  in  the  century  no  wit  but  sneered  at 
the  educated  woman.  Swift,  Congreve,  Smollett,  even 
the  much  gentler  Addison  and  Steele,  had  shafts  for 
so  outrageous  a  being.  The  enlightened  Dr.  More 
was  alarmed  at  the  capacity  of  his  daughter  Hannah, 
and  caused  her  to  discontinue  Latin  and  mathematics. 
Mrs.  Somerville  (born  1780)  tells  us  that  when  she 
showed  signs  of  rapid  advance  in  mathematics  her 
father.  Admiral  Fairfax,  observed  to  her  mother :  "  We 
must  put  a  stop  to  this,  or  we  shall  have  Mary  in  a 
strait-jacket  one  of  these  days." 

Still,  the  numbers  of  thoughtful  and  educated  women 
grew.  Butts  for  cheap  wit,  they  performed  the  in- 
valuable service  of  accustoming  the  world  to  their 
existence.  Foreign  writers  commented  upon  the  great 
amount  of  Uberty  enjoyed  by  Englishwomen.  "They 
govern  everything  despotically  in  their  houses,  making 
themselves  feared  by  the  men,"  writes  one.  On  the 
other  hand.  Dr.  Sdgur,  in  1803,  sees  little  difference 
between  the  Enghsh  and  the  Turkish  woman;  the 
former  have  neither  walls  nor  keepers,  yet  suffer  equal 
constraint. 

Though  De  Segur  wrote  at  a  later  date,  such  contra- 
dictory observations  point  to  a  recognised  national 
characteristic,  variety  in  type  and  standard,  to  the 
fact  that  room  is  always  made  in  this  country  for 
character  and  capacity,  even  to  the  extent  of  largely 
disregarding  sex  distinctions  and  prejudices. 

In  what  has  been  written,  only  the  briefest  allusion 


INTRODUCTORY  ii 

has  been  made  to  the  education  of  men  and  boys.  For 
a  survey  to  be  truly  valuable,  a  comparison  would  need 
to  be  instituted  between  the  sexes. 

Generally  speaking,  the  education  of  women  and  girls 
has  lagged,  and  still  lags,  behind  that  of  the  opposite 
sex.  In  all  probability  the  difference  in  the  seventeenth, 
eighteenth,  and  more  especially  the  early  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  was  greater  than  now. 

Le  Blanc  observed,  that  in  the  last  century  the  sexes 
did  not  talk  together ;  though  probably,  if  he  examined 
the  manners,  morals,  and  capacity  of  the  macaroni, 
dandy,  mohawk,  he  would  not  entirely  blame  woman- 
kind for  the  loss  of  one  of  the  most  refined  of 
pleasures.* 

To  sum  up  this  imperfect  survey :  The  convents  were 
the  great  "  she  schools,"  as  the  divine  Fuller  phrased  it. 
The  Dissolution  found  women  less  prepared  for  the 
blow  than  men.  The  convent  schools  disappeared  and 
nothing  replaced  them.  The  Reformers,  some  of  them 
actuated  by  genuine  dislike  and  dread  of  monastic  vows ; 
others,  profiting  by  the  general  grasping  at  monastic 
property,  and  fearing  that  they  might  be  called  on  to 
restore  it,  preached  that  there  was  no  career  for  women 
save  wifehood  and  motherhood.  A  marked  depression 
followed    in    women's  position,   no  satisfactory  outlet 

*  See  the  extraordinary  Act  passed  in  1770  against  women 
seducing  and  betraying  men  into  matrimony  by  means  of  scents, 
paints,  cosmetic  washes,  artificial  teeth,  false  hair,  hoops,  stays,  &c. 
By  such  conduct  they  were  to  incur  the  penalty  of  witchcraft,  and 
the  marriage  to  be  declared  null  and  void. 


12  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

being  found  for  their  talents  and  energies.  During 
that  period  they  played  a  less  important  part  in  the 
history  of  the  nation  than  ever  before.  Probably  they 
touched  the  lowest  point  in  1832,  when  Lord  John 
Russell's  Reform  Bill  explicitly  declared  that  in  all 
existing  Acts  concerning  enfranchisement,  the  word 
person  must  be  taken  to  mean  male  person,  and  the 
Bill  formally  disfranchised  women.  During  that  time 
there  were  always  refined  and  highly-educated  women ; 
but  the  proportion  was  very  small,  and  their  perform- 
ances almost  invariably  excited  ridicule.  Education 
was  indifferent  for  both  sexes,  but  especially  for  women 
and  girls.  The  inferiority  in  that  period  was  greater 
than  it  is  to-day. 


PART    I. 
ENGLAND    AND     WALES 

Section   I. 
lElementat^  or  iprimari?  jEbucatton 

Elementary  or  Primary  Education  must  be  taken  to 

mean    that    which    is    obtained    in    the    Elementary 

^  ^  .  .  schools   of   the  country,  both   Board 

Definition.  ,  ,r  ,  ^^     i       ,      , 

and  Voluntary.     Such  schools  receive 

State  aid,  in  the  shape  of  a  Government  grant,  and 
must,  in  return,  submit  to  inspection  by  officials 
appointed  by  the  Lords  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Privy  Council  on  Education  (usually  called  the 
Education  Department),  and  accept  a  body  of  regula- 
tions known  as  the  Code. 

Elementary  Education  does  not  now  simply  embrace 
the  three  Rs;  it  includes  subjects  that  some  educa- 
tionists call  Secondary— such  as  Mathematics,  French. 
Yet  since  education  usually  terminates  at  thirteen,  or 
less,  in  the  State  schools,  little  more  than  the  elements 
can  be  mastered  in  such  subjects ;  the  bulk  of  the 
education  given  is  elementary.  A  fair  number  of 
schools  used  by  the  middle  classes  do  not  carry  educa- 
tion on  beyond  the  elementary  stage,  and,  to  be  quite 

»3 


14  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN 

correct,  should  not  be  styled  Secondary.  Preparatory 
schools  are  not  properly  elementary,  because  their 
curriculum  supposes  that  education  will  be  carried  on, 
perhaps,  to  the  age  of  eighteen.  The  great  dividing 
line  must  at  present  be  marked  by  State  aid  and  State 
control,  although  it  will  be  shown  later  that  some 
Secondary  schools  have  naturally  developed  from  the 
Elementary  school  system. 

The  recognition  of  the  principle  that  every  child 
should  be  educated  belongs  to  the  present  century, 
and  was  clearly  formulated  by  the 
everv  child  National  Education  League,  founded 

at  Birmingham  in  1869,  whose  chief 
object  was  to  secure  the  education  of  every  child 
in  England  and  Wales.  We  find  traces  of  the 
idea  early  in  the  century,  in  the  labours  of  Bell 
and  Lancaster,  and  even  in  the  preceding  century; 
but  it  cannot  be  said  to  have  grafted  itself  on  the 
national  mind  before  the  present  century.  The  whole 
story  of  national  education  is  a  working  towards  the 
idea  of  education  for  all :  the  tightening  of  the  cord, 
that  none  shall  escape.  We  may  watch  its  development 
in  the  regulations  for  children  on  barges,  in  travelling 
caravans,  the  blind,  deaf  mutes,  and  the  mentally 
defective.  The  development  of  the  idea  that  educa- 
tion is  for  each,  according  to  his  capacity,  is  not 
unconnected  in  England  with  the  extension  of  the 
franchise;  step  by  step  they  have  broadened  together. 

The  mediaeval  idea  was  distinctly  that  education  was 
for  those  who  had  good  brains,  and  who  wanted  it. 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  15 

In  former  times  The  right  of  the  poor  and  clever 
Education  was  boy  was  fully  recognized,  and,  in 
for  the  clever.         ^^^^^     ^.^^^^     carefully     safeguarded. 

That  these  rights  fell  into  such  desuetude  as  to  be 
practically  abrogated  was  not  the  result  of  malice,  or 
refusal  to  cultivate  brains  wherever  they  were  to  be 
found,  but  simply  the  working  out  of  a  well-known 
social  law :  that  everything,  unless  precautions  are 
taken,  tends  to  work  into  the  hands  of  the  wealthy 
and  well-to-do.  Wealth  is  the  mighty  centripetal  force  \ 
the  counteracting  centrifugal  force  would  demand  educa- 
tion and  vigilance  on  the  part  of  poverty. 

The    beginnings    of    education    are    found    in    the 

monasteries.     Monks    and    nuns    desired    to    educate 

young   people   who   should   be    their 

Monastery  colleagues    and    successors.      Hence 

Schools. 

their     internal     schools.        But,     in 

addition,  the  monasteries  were  great  social  institutions 

with   important    duties,   amongst  which   was    included 

the  teaching  of  the  young.     Little  is  known  of  these 

early  schools,  especially  at  the  time  when  monasteries 

were  very  important,  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries. 

We  know  that  Hilda,  of  Whitby,  summoned  Caedmon, 

the  shepherd  boy,  to  the  monastery,  and  there  had  him 

taught,  with   the  result  that  he  produced  a   metrical 

version  of  the  scriptures  in  Anglo-Saxon,  of  priceless 

value  to  philologers.     Probably  something  like  class 

division     appeared    very   early,    though    the    cleavage 

between  classes  was  not  so  strictly  defined  as,  say,  at 

the   beginning  of  the  present  century.     We  read  of 


i6  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN 

youths  of  gentle  birth  being  sent  to  abbots'  houses. 
The  Abbot  of  Hyde  used  to  educate  eight  boys, 
probably  heirs  to  estates,  and  the  Abbot  of  Glaston- 
bury had  some  300  youths  pass  through  his  hands  at 
different  times.  Yet  we  recognize  fully  the  democratic 
principle  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  Langland  tells  us, 
in  his  Vision  of  Piers  Plowman^  how  the  cobbler's  son 
and  beggar's  brat  turn  writer  and  then  bishop.  We 
know  that  the  villein's  son  could  become  a  priest, 
because  the  Constitutions  of  Clarendon  forbad  his 
consecration  without  his  lord's  consent. 

Later  in  the  Church's  history  we  find  not  only  schools 
in  the  monasteries,  but  connected  with  cathedrals,  in 

the  parishes,  and  chapter  schools, 
Cathedral  and  ^j^-^j^  ^^^.^  ^.^j  managed  by  the 
Parish  Schools  r       /  o  y 

laity.     The  parish  school  would  seem 

to  be  the  place  where  one  would  naturally  expect 
to  find  the  children  of  the  poor.  But  probably  the 
difficulties  of  travelling  caused  the  children  of  the 
yeoman  and  the  labourer  to  learn  together,  when  they 
learned  at  all.  In  cases  of  exceptional  ability — and 
we  must  remember  that  in  thinly  populated  districts 
it  is  everybody's  business  to  know  all  there  is  to  know — 
the  clever  child  was  doubtless  known,  and  probably 
welcomed. 

The  Labour  Act  of  1405  supplies  us  with  a  fact  amid 
all  this  conjecture.     It  was  intended  to  counteract  the 

scarcity  of  farm  labour,  and  requires 
Education  of  ^^^    none   is   to    apprentice    son    or 

the  Poor.  ^       .         ^  .^. 

daughter  to  a  craft  m  a  town,  save 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  17 

those  whose  rent  is  at  least  205.,  i.e.^  a  small  peasant 
proprietor,  or  cotter.  It  runs  on,  regardless  of  grammar, 
"provided  always  that  every  man  and  woman  of  what 
estate  or  condition  that  he  be  shall  be  free  to  set  their 
son  or  daughter  to  take  learning  at  any  manner  of  school 
that  pleaseth  them  within  the  realm." 

The  Church  was  then  very  powerful,  though  a  few 
years  later  the  Knights  of  the  Shire  did  propose  to 
confiscate  her  property  for  military  purposes.  The  law 
can  only  be  construed  to  mean  that  she  declined  to 
have  her  supplies  of  clever  children  cut  off. 

In  the  early  days  the  Church  was  probably  able  to 
undertake  such  education  as  was  wanted ;  but  it  is 
more  than  probable  that  her  capability  ceased  com- 
paratively early.  In  11 79,  by  a  decree 
A  Prayer  for  ^     ,       ^  ^  .,       t        ,       , 

efficient  Masters.  ^^  ^^^  Lateran  Council,  the  head 
teacher  of  every  cathedral  was  directed 
to  assume  authority  over  all  other  schoolmasters  in  the 
diocese;  he  was  to  possess  the  right  of  granting  a 
licence,  without  which  none  was  to  presume  to  teach. 
This  marks  an  important  assumption  of  authority  on 
the  part  of  the  Church.  The  petition  of  1447  shows 
us  that  she  was  not  fulfilling  her  heavy  task  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all.  In  that  year  four  clergymen  of 
London  presented  a  petition  to  Parliament,  complaining 
of  the  want  of  grammar  schools,  of  the  scarcity  of 
good  teachers,  and  of  the  large  number  of  uneducated 
masters  who  took  up  the  profession  of  teaching.  The 
clergymen  craved  permission  to  found  schools  and 
appoint   efficient   masters   in   their  respective   parishes 

C 


i8  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

in  order  to  satisfy  the  great  demand  for  instruction. 
The  prayer  was  granted.  We  know  that  at  this  time 
the  monasteries  were  decaying,  and  the  towns  and 
universities  making  progress.  Shortly  afterwards  a  law 
was  passed  making  it  illegal  to  send  children  to 
unauthorized  teachers.  This  foreshadowing  of  the 
Teachers'  Registration  Bill  of  a  later  age  was  aimed 
at  those  who  favoured  Wycliffe's  teaching,  and  points 
to  the  fact  that  schools  were  arising  independently  of 
the  Church. 

Meantime,  it  would  be  very  wrong  to  suppose  that 
the  middle  classes  or  nobility  had  a  passion  for  educa- 
tion. In  a  prefatory  letter  to  his  De  Frudu^  addressed 
to  Dean  Colet,  founder  of  St.  Paul's  School,  and  the 
great  educational  reformer  of  his  day  {d.  15 19),  Pace 
tells  us  of  the  frank  opinion  of  a  British  parent  heard 

by   him   at   some   tavern   feast.      "  I 
Opinion  of  a 
British  parent.        ^wear  by  God's  body  I  'd  rather  that 

my  son  should  hang  than  study  letters. 
The  study  of  letters  should  be  left  to  rustics." 

This  idea  was  modified  as  time  went  on,  surviving 
well  into  the  i8th  century,  under  the  form  that  learning 
was  not  quite  the  thing  for  gentlemen ;  and  exists  to-day 
in  some  quarters,  with  a  further  modification  that  it  is 
not  the  thing  for  workers. 

An  idea  prevails,  indeed  some  writers  (for  example, 
Mr.  G.  C.  T.  Bartley  and  Dr.  J.  H.  Rigg)  state  quite 
definitely  that  schools  for  the  people  were  begun  at 
the  Reformation.  We  know  that  some  300  grammar 
schools  were  founded  between  the  reigns  of  Henry  VII. 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  19 

and  James  I. ;  but  it  is  clear  that  the  share  of  the  poor 
in  these  schools  was  the  share  of  the  clever  boy.  The 
Share  of  the  Poor  Schools  Inquiry  Commission  1865- 
in  the  Grammar  67  was  quite  definite  on  this  point : 
Schools.  ^j^g  purpose  of  the    grammar   school 

was  to  give  an  education  higher  than  the  rudiments, 
conducted  under  religious  influences,  put  within  the 
reach  of  all  classes,  with  special  preference  for  the 
poor  boy  apt  to  learn.  The  Reformers  were  too  busy 
about  dogma  and  the  division  of  the  spoils  to  care 
much  about  education,  excepting  Warham,  Cranmer, 
and  one  or  two  others.  Moreover,  the  Reformation 
inaugurated  the  individualistic  era;  with  all  her  faults, 
the  Church  of  Rome  upheld  a  socialist  ideal,  and  the 
poor  boy  was  safer  under  her  wing  than  at  any  time 
between  the  Reformation  and  the  uprise  of  philan- 
thropic aims  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

It  is  true  that  Erasmus  had  noble  ideas  on  education : 
it  was  to  be  for  rich  and  poor,  for  girl  and  boy  alike. 

But  More,  who  shared  his  ideas,  and 
Erasmus  and  ^  ^     ,       t.   /. 

jyjQj.g  Erasmus,   were   not  of  the  Reforma- 

tion, which  the  one  opposed,  and 
the  other  gazed  on  very  coldly.  They  were  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  movement,  and  helped  in  some  of 
its  manifestations.  They  hoped  and  believed  that  men 
would  now  open  their  eyes  and  see,  and  that  a  great 
era  was  beginning  for  mankind.  So  far  as  England 
was  concerned,  More  died  on  the  scaffold,  and  Erasmus 
only  lived  to  see  the  great  Renascence  movement  penned 
up  in  the  channels  of  the  Reformation.     Luther  em- 


20  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

phatically  favoured  instruction  for  the  whole  juvenile 
population,  girls  as  well  as  boys,  with  characteristic 
energy  proving  the  obligation  from  the  Bible.  The 
acceptance  of  his  view  belongs  to  German  rather  than 
English  history. 

In  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Lords  in  1869,  the 
Duke  of  Argyll  mildly  told  his  hearers  he  was  "not 

aware  that  any  English  Reformer  laid 
The  Reformation  ,  ,  .  ^         .       , 

and  Education.        ^^'^^^^   "P^'^   ^^   subject   of    national 

education,"  and  was  moreover  of 
opinion  that  the  grammar  schools  were  not  meant 
for  the  instruction  of  the  people.  It  is  certain  that 
only  the  middle  classes  derived  much  benefit  from 
them. 

If  proof  is  wanted  that  the  Reformation  in  England 
was  indifferent  to  popular  education,  it  can  be  found 

in    the    complaint    of     1562,    when 

,     \     Speaker    Williams   was   in   the   chair, 
and  not  replaced.       ^ 

It  was  definitely  stated  in  Parlia- 
ment that  a  hundred  schools  were  now  altogether 
lacking  where,  before  the  Reformation,  they  had 
existed. 

The  complaint  was  general  that  the  poor  could  get 
no  education  :  they  were  being  "  scrooged  out "  of  the 
grammar  schools,  and  no  provision  at  all  was  made 
for  them.  So  noticeable  was  this  that  in  1589  a  law 
was  passed  which  aimed  at  preventing  grammar  schools 
and  universities  being  used  solely  by  the  wealthy.  It 
is  worth  noting  that  in  Scotland  the  Reformation 
shewed  a  very  different  face  to  education.     This  Dr. 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  21 

Schaible   explains  by  the   fact   that   in   Scotland   the 

,  ^    „      ,  Reformation  came   from   below :    the 

John  Knox  s 

scheme  for  people     wanted     it,     therefore     their 

National  needs  were  considered.     In  England 

Education.  ^^^^  ^.^   ^^^  ^^^^   it— they  rebelled 

to   have   the    old  Church  and  monasteries  reinstated : 

the  Reformation  was  from  above.     Not  only  was  there 

no  improvement  in  education ;  it  sank  to  a  lower  level 

than  in  pre-Reformation  times.     John  Knox  proceeded 

to  promulgate   a    national    scheme    of   education    for 

Scotland,  wonderfully  complete;    indeed,  in   the  light 

of    his   limitations   it   is   truly  astonishing.      The   rich 

^,      .  ,  ,  were    to    be    compelled    to    educate 

The  rich  to  pay 

for  the  poor.  ^^^i''   ^^"^   children,    and    to   pay   for 

the  children  of  the  poor.  There  was 
to  be  a  school  in  every  town  and  populous  parish; 
thinly  populated  districts  had  special  arrangements;  in 
the  principal  towns  there  were  to  be  secondary  schools ; 
the  universities  were  to  be  re-modelled,  leaving  the 
path  to  them  open.  Within  fifteen  years  there  was 
hardly  a  town  or  parish  in  Scotland  that  had  not  its 
school  and  schoolmaster. 

In  England  the  serious  lack  of  schools  was  greatly 
felt  and  deplored  at  the  close  of  Elizabeth's  reign. 
The  Church  ■'•"    ^^°4    ^^    Church    obtained    the 

obtains  control        control    of    education    by    means    of 
of  Education,         certain     canons ;      and     during     the 

century  about  700  parish  schools 
were  founded,  a  number  which  cannot  nearly  have 
covered   the   country.      Indeed,   as   Mr.    Craik   points 


22  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

out,*  for  the  next  two  hundred  years  the  educational 
wants  of  the  country  were  entirely  met  by  private 
and  voluntary  agency. 

The  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  saw  the  beginning 
of  the  great  religious  struggle  between  the  Church  of 
England  and  the  Puritans :  a  struggle  that  seemed  to 
end  in  the  defeat  of  the  latter,  but  which  really  secured 
constitutional  freedom  for  England,  and  for  all  those 
nations  which  have  turned  to  her  as  a  model.  One 
cannot  but  wonder  whether  a  longer  tenure  of  power 
by  the  Puritan  party  than  Cromwell's  brief  rule,  would 
not  have  tended  to  give  England  more  in  due  season 
her  national  scheme  of  education.  The  Puritans  were 
the  serious  party  of  the  Reformation ;  they  had  a  grasp 
of  principles,  they  were  largely  the  stuff  of  which  John 
Knoxes  are  made,  and  moreover,  a  very  large  proportion 
of  them  were  ministers  and  schoolmasters.  From  the 
Restoration  until  Anne's  reign  closed,  omitting  that 
The  Church  of  William    III.,   the    policy   of   the 

silences  Dissent-  Government  was  to  silence  and 
ing  Teachers.         j^^j.j.y    ^y^^^    ^^^    ^f    the    land.      In 

1709  the  Schism  Act  was  passed,  forbidding  any  one 
to  keep  a  public  or  private  school  unless  he  were  a 
member  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  Church  was 
left  in  possession ;  and  about  the  same  time  the  Society 
for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge  began  its  work. 
Practically  they  found  no  provision  at  all  for  the 
education  of  the  poor,  and  with  praiseworthy  energy 

*  In  his  excellent  work,  The  State  in  its  relation  to  Education. 
Macmillan  and  Co. 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  23 

they  undertook  the  task.  The  educational  programme 
was  very  modest.  Children  were  to  be  taught  in  the 
principles  of  the  Church  of  England,  i.e.  the  catechism, 
The  S  P  C  K  ^^  ^^^^  (especially  the  scriptures), 
begins  a  National  and  to  write.  Modest  as  it  was, 
system.  the  beginning   of   a  national   system 

would  appear  to  be  here.  The  Society  began  its  work 
in  London  in  1699:  it  opened  its  first  school  in  1702. 
Mr.  George  C.  T.  Bartley,  in  his  Schools  for  the  People^ 
gives  the  following  figures.  It  is  probable  that  girls 
were  attending  parish  schools  in  the  seventeenth 
century;  but  Mr.  Bartley's  are  the  first  definite  figures 
obtainable. 

No.  of  Schools.  Boys.  Girls. 

1704         ...         54         ...  -i-Z^^i         ...  745 

1709  ...  88  ...  2181  ...  1221 

1714         ...        "7         ...         3077         ...  1741 

The  clergy  examined  the  schools,  and  indeed  scrip- 
ture was  regarded  as  the  great  subject.  Miss  Jourdan 
states  in  a  pamphlet — Improvements  in  Education — 
that  writing  and  arithmetic  were  non-essential  for  the 
schoolmistress — her  subjects  being  reading,  needlework, 
and  scripture.  The  reading  would  seem  to  have  been 
only  necessary  for  the  sake  of  the  scripture,  and  there 
was  much  parrot-like  repetition  of  the  Bible,  hymns  and 
catechism.  To  this  period  belong  such  extraordinary 
versions  of  the  catechism  as  the  following : 

"  My  duty  toads  God  is  to  bleed  in 

Ed      ti  ^^"^  ^^  fering  and  to  loaf  withold  your 

arts  withold  my  mine  withold  my  sold 

and  with  my  semth  to  whirchp  and  to  give  thinks 


24  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

to  put  my  old  trast  in  him  to  call  upon  him  to 
onner  his  old  name  and  his  world  and  to  save 
him  truly  all  the  days  of  my  lifes  end." 


*My  dooty  tords  my  Nabers  to  love  him  as 
thyself  and  to  do  to  all  men  as  I  wed  thou  do  and 
to  me  to  love  onner  and  suke  my  fazher  and 
mother  to  onner  and  to  bay  the  queen  and  all  that 
are  pet  in  a  forty  under  her  to  smit  myself  to  all 
my  gooness  teaches  sportial  pastures  and  marsters 
to  oughten  myself  lordly  and  every  to  all  my 
betters  to  hut  nobody  by  would  nor  deed  to  be 
trew  in  jest  in  all  my  deelins  to  beer  no  malis  nor 
ated  in  your  arts  to  kep  my  ands  from  pecken  and 
steel  my  turn  from  evil  speak  and  lawing  and 
slanders  not  to  civet  nor  desar  other  mans  good 
but  to  lern  laber  trewly  to  git  my  own  leaving  and 
to  do  my  dooty  in  that  state  if  life  and  to  each  it 
his  please  God  to  call  men." 


"They  did  promis  and  voal  three  things  in  my 
name  first  that  I  should  pernounce  of  the  devel 
and  all  his  walks  pumps  and  valities  of  this  wicked 
wold  and  all  the  sinful  larsts  of  the  flesh." 

These  extraordinary  versions  of  the  catechism  were 
presented  to  one  of  H.M.'s  Inspectors,  the  Rev.  W.  H. 
Brookfield,  and  appear  in  his  general  report  on  schools 
inspected  in  Kent,  Surrey,  and  Sussex,  1855 ;  ^^^7 
could  equally  well  belong  to  the  period  under  con- 
sideration. 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  25 

Miss  Jourdan  is  of  opinion  that  Sunday  schools  were 
in   existence   in    England   before   Mr.    Robert    Raikes 

began    the    work    at    Gloucester    in 

1780,  and  cites  the  work  of  the 
Rev.  Theophilus  Lindsey  at  Catherick  in  Yorkshire, 
who  on  alternate  Sunday  afternoons  taught  the  children 
of  his  parish ;  though  she  admits  that  from  the  time 
Mr.  Raikes  took  up  the  work,  it  was  better  organized 
and  developed  rapidly.  The  Sunday  schools  really 
taught  the  children  to  read,  and  sometimes  to  write.  In 
some  places  the  schools  assembled  three  times  on 
Sunday,  this  being  the  only  day  when  for  some  children 
any  education  or  civilizing  influence  was  possible.  It 
was  indeed  a  period  of  national  glory  and  degradation. 
England's  empire  was  growing  by  leaps  and  bounds, 
whilst  at  the  same  time  the  London  gin  palaces  invited 
the  passer-by  to  get  drunk  for  a  penny,  or  dead  drunk, 
twopence. 

Hannah  More  and  her  friend  Miss  Harrison  were 
teaching  the  poor  in  back  kitchens  and  barns.  They 
were  openly  ridiculed,  the  young  women  who  could 
have  helped  standing  aloof.     These  ladies  were  told 

that  they  would  ruin  agriculture ; 
Objections  to  ^j^^^    j^    servants    learned    to     read, 

Education. 

they    would    read    their     mistresses' 

letters;  that  if  they  learned  to  write,  they  would 
forge.  Some  did  not  object  to  religious  instruction, 
as  they  thought  it  might  prevent  the  robbing  of  their 
orchards.  The  Sunday  school  movement  grew,  the 
Church  of  England  and   Nonconformist  bodies  alike 


26  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

developing  it.     The   Ragged  School  movement  dates 

a  little  later. 

In   the   beginning    of  the    century   two    educational 

reformers   come   to   the   front,    Dr.    Andrew   Bell  and 

Joseph   Lancaster,    both   claiming   to 

Bell  and  y^^  ^^  inventors  of  what  the  Edin- 

Lancaster. 

burgh  Review  styled   that   "beautiful 

and  inestimable  discovery,"  the  monitorial  system. 
Bell  was  a  Scotch  episcopalian,  and,  unlike  the  gener- 
aUty  of  his  countrymen,  fearful  of  elevating  the  poor 
above  their  station.  Certain  persons  he  regarded  as 
doomed  to  the  drudgery  of  daily  toil;  certain  others 
were  predestined  to  rank,  wealth,  privilege.  Bell  was 
cold,  shrewd,  self-seeking;  unable  to  conceive  a  national 
scheme  of  education,  even  if  he  had  had  the  necessary 
qualities  to  help  to  carry  it  out.  Nevertheless,  he 
filled  his  contemporaries  with  admiration.  R.  C. 
Dallas,  in  his  New  Conspiracy  against  the  Jesuits^  says 
of  Dr.  Bell's  system :  "  It  is  impossible  to  contemplate 
the  advantages  arising  to  our  fellow-creatures  and  to 
society  from  Dr.  Bell's  system  of  education  for  the 
poor,  without  grateful  feelings  to  the  author.  .  .  . 
Thousands  upon  thousands  will  bless  him,  while  he 
yet  lives,  and  a  perpetual  series  of  millions  will  revere 
his  memory  after  he  shall  have  joined  the  myriads 
of  spirits  from  whom  he  shall  himself  learn  the 
celestial  allelujahs."  In  1797  he  published  a  pamphlet 
— An  Experiment  in  Education — after  he  left  Madras. 
He  expounds  the  monitorial  system  which,  briefly 
stated,   is   simply    using    the   older   children   to  teach 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  27 

the  younger.  He  had  a  living  at  Swanage,  and  in  1806 
caused  his  method  to  be  introduced  to  a  day  school 
there.  Later,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  intro- 
duced it  into  a  Lambeth  school  established  by  him ; 
the  National  Society,  founded  in  181 1,  took  up  the 
work.  Its  great  feature  is  distinctive  religious  teaching. 
Besides  establishing  schools,  the  Society  has  worked  to 
secure  suitable  teachers,  and  at  different  periods  has 
established  five  institutions'^  for  the  purpose  of  training 
them.  Joseph  Lancaster  (i 778-1838)  was  an  educa- 
tional enthusiast,  of  a  different  temperament  from  Bell. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  walked  to  Bristol,  with  the  idea 
of  taking  ship  to  Jamaica,  to  teach  the  negroes.  The 
scheme  was  prevented  by  his  parents.  Later  he  became 
a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  usher  in  a 
school.  His  skill  and  zeal  brought  crowds  of  children 
to  his  school  in  the  Borough  Road :  to-day,  a  Board 
School  stands  on  its  site.  Lancaster  held  that  all 
religious  tenets  should  be  excluded  from  a  school  meant 
for  the  use  of  all.  Friends  came  to  his  aid,  the 
numbers  of  his  scholars  outgrew  his  premises ;  even 
George  IH.  subscribed  liberally  to  extend  his  work.  As 
he  was  very  poor,  Lancaster  also  hit  upon  the  plan  of 
using  elder  scholars  to  teach  the  younger  ones; 
gradually  this  extended  into  their  being  trained  as 
masters.  Lancaster,  though  most  zealous  for  the 
advancement  of  his  pupils,  was  vain,  thriftless,  and 
guiltless  of  business  capacity.     When  he  was  arrested 

*  There  are  other  Church  Training  Colleges,  but  they  are  not 
under  the  Society's  direction. 


MDOCATWlf  OF  GIRLS  AMD  WOMiBN 

^  ^^  finr  ddbt  in  1807,  Cacton  and  Fax 

foiwd  to  fcond  tbe  RijIkIi 


aoDd  Fore^  School  Society  "widi  a 
awiglft  cy<e  to  tbe  ^kxy  of 
God^  and  widi  a  ivev  to  hc.ntfil  tbe  BiiliA 
Tbe  Society  spread  quiddy,  paid  Tanrasiei^s  debt:^  and 

Iter  be  and  diey  lad 


to  part  OMuiMyny-    Tbe  vbole  mopvemem  vas  for  an- 

[^  no  calBcbBni  or 
tobetane^  Amrmentthe 
of  tbe  Society  were  die  stnonlaban  iJL  locad  effort  and 
tbe  tninii^  of  teacben.  The  year  1870  saw  dK 
in  the  Kdwratinn  Bill  of  die  pdncqife  for 


die   Society  bad  stn^gj^fed 

JnsliiMlwaL    The   Society  bas   sol   fe 
coilegEs  for  tcai litis.. 

BodiBdl  and  Lancaster  deKnepnuKte  the 
they  made  to  iiupiofe  fwtfi^ilar  edocationL    The 
lattiiies  of  Kngjbnd  bad  iwienlly  been 
by  tbe  appliration  of  steam  as  a  motor  popwo^and  by 
mnnesQns  inif^"«i<MWf  in  ib^  arts  fJi 
iioncastiii^  and  so  fbidi.    WeaUi  ai 
witb  incnsdible  lapidiiy  ^ 
an  diose  iitiliiiug  Cones  to 
ive  naBKS  as  art  and 
and  the 


«FkaeR9B-«r 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  29 

these  terms  referred  to  the  people  at  large  instead  of 
to  exports,  imports,  output,  turnover,  and  the  general 
field  of  business  energy. 

To  Bell,  Lancaster,  and  to  Dr.  George  Birkbeck, 
the  founder  of  mechanics*  institutes,  we  are  indebted 
for  their  practical  protest  against  the  idea  that  mere 
*'  progress  "  is  enough  for  a  nation :  that  the  people  exist 
for  toil  alone. 

The  Churches  had  sunk  to  a  low  ebb  of  vigour  and 
vitality ;  Bell  and  Lancaster  succeeded  in  enlisting  their 
aid  on  behalf  of  education.  Their  monitorial  system 
has  since  been  condemned ;  we  must  judge  the  value  of 
their  work  whilst  recollecting  that  the  strictest  economy 
was  necessary.  Very  few  approved  the  education  of  the 
people,  still  less  were  they  prepared  to  spend  much  of 
that  greatly  increasing  wealth  on  so  absiu-d  an  aim.  Of 
the  two  Societies  with  which  they 
The  National  ^^^  connected,  the  National  Society, 
the  organized  educational  agency  of 
the  Church  of  England,  was  far  the  larger;  but  the 
struggle  between  the  two  was  partly  equalized  by  the 
immense  vigour  and  energy  of  the  British  and  Foreign 
Society,  the  Dissenters'  agency.  It  is  said  that  the 
numerical  proportion  of  the  two  bodies  was  as  nine 
to  one,  and  the  National  Society  had  the  wealth  and 
influence  of  the  Establishment  in  addition. 

From   the   end   of    the   eighteenth 

The  State  and  century  it  was  admitted  that  the  State 
Education.  ,  .       ^         ^         . 

ought  to  do  something  for  education, 

and   this   duty   became   even   more    imperative   when 


30  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

the  passing  of  the  First  Factory  Act  in  1802  gave 
the  children  of  the  workers  more  leisure.  The  point 
was  whether  education  should  be  organised  from  the 
centre,  or  whether  the  State  should  cast  upon  local 
authorities  the  duty  of  establishing  parochial  schools, 
and  using  compulsory  rates  for  their  mamtenance. 
Lord  Brougham's  opinion  was  that  building  grants 
only  would  be  necessary  on  the  part  of  the  State, 
and  that  each  locality  should  control  its  educational 
machinery.  Much  more  overwhelming  was  the  religious 
difficulty,  which  instead  of  lessening,  rose  steadily,  in- 
ducing both  parties  to  repeatedly  oppose  State  inter- 
Growth  of  the  vention  out  of  religious  jealousy.  Lord 
Religious  Brougham's   important   Bill   in    1820 

Difficulty.  ^^g  rejected   by  the   Nonconformists 

because,  in  their  opinion,  it  strengthened  the  hands  of 
the  Church;  the  Church  defeated  Lord  Melbourne's 
Bill  in  1839  because  Churchmen  considered  that  it 
placed  Dissenters  almost  on  an  equal  footing  with  them- 
selves; in  1842  the  Nonconformists  opposed  Sir  Robert 
Peel's  Bill.  The  most  enlightened  legislation  took  for 
granted  that  a  teacher  must  be  a  member  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  a  certificate  from  the  clergyman  of  the 
parish  was  essential  to  a  teacher's  appointment.  Even 
in  1840,  when  the  Government  had  established  inspec- 
tion of  schools,  it  was  necessary  to  concede  that  the 
Primate  should  sanction  the  appointment  of  inspectors. 
Nonconformists,  suspicious  and  alarmed,  compelled  a 
power  of  veto  to  be  granted  to  the  British  and  Foreign 
Society. 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  31 

While  the  sects  wrangled  the  children  were  not 
taught.     Far  less  than  half  their  numbers  were  to  be 

found  in  schools  of  any  kind,  and 
Inadequacy  of  ^^^^  ^^^^  wretchedly  inadequate.  In 
the  Schools. 

the  Abstract  of  Returns,  presented  to 

the  House  of  Commons  in  1839,  it  was  shewn  that 
there  were  parishes  in  many  English  counties  absolutely 
without  schools.  On  a  single  page  of  the  returns  there 
are  often  as  many  as  four  parishes  so  marked.  Of 
course  their  population  is  usually  small,  but  they  run 
up  to  300,  400,  500.  In  one  parish,  Earsham,  there 
was  only  one  school,  attended  by  20  boys  and  5  girls, 
though  the  population  was  759. 

Instruction,  if  one  may  use  the  word,  was  often  given 

in  a  single  room  used  for  sitting,  sleeping,  and  cooking. 

Complaint   is   made   of   the   languor 

A  Liverpool  ^^  ^j^^   children,    their   real    inability 

School. 

to    do    mental    work    of    any    kind. 

Such  fetid  little  dens  amply  account  for  it.  In  Liver- 
pool a  school  was  found  in  1840  in  a  garret,  up  three 
pairs  of  broken  stairs.  There  were  forty  children  in 
a  room  ten  feet  by  nine;  on  a  perch  in  a  corner 
were  two  hens  and  a  cock,  and  beneath  a  stump 
bed  was  a  dog-kennel  with  three  terriers.  The  master 
sat  in  a  position  to  obscure  three-fourths  of  the 
light  from  the  one  small  window.  In  another  Liverpool 
school  no  seats  were  provided,  and  the  children 
simply  squatted  on  the  floor.  "In  a  third  school, 
also  in  a  garret  very  much  dilapidated,  and  only  nine 
feet   by    twelve    feet,  were    thirty-eight   scholars;   not 


32  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

more  than  six  of  them  had  any  book ;  a  desk,  at  which 
only  five  boys  could  be  accommodated  at  the  same 
time,  was  all  the  provision  for  writing  and  arithmetic. 
The  room  below  was  in  the  occupation  of  a  cobbler, 
whose  wife  lay  ill  in  bed  with  a  fever,  himself  pursuing 
his  avocation  near  to  the  bedside." 

"  Religious  instruction,"  says  the  editor  of  the  papers 
of  the  Central  Society  (1837),  "is  seldom  attended  to 
beyond  the  rehearsal  of  a  catechism,  and  moral  educa- 
tion, real  cultivation  of  the  mind,  and  improvement  of 
character,  are  totally  neglected."  "Morals,"  said  one 
master,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry  whether  he  taught 
them,  "  morals !  how  am  I  to  teach  them  to  the  like 
of  these?"  To  the  same  question  another  master 
replied,  "That  question  doesn't  belong  to  my  school, 
it  belongs  to  girls'  schools."  The  same  authority  states 
that  the  girls'  schools  had  "a  more  favourable  appear- 
ance than  the  boys'  schools ;  better  order  and  discipline 
prevailed,  and  some  mistresses  appeared  to  have  solid 
qualifications  for  their  office."  Those  who  collected 
these  facts  complained  of  the  conceit  and  self- 
sufficiency  of  the  teachers.  When  the  lack  of  the 
most  necessary  equipment  was  pointed  out  to  them, 
they  retorted  that  there  was  no  royal  road  to  learning. 
Much  later  than  this,  in  1870,  when  one  of  England's 
twelve  largest  towns  was  conducting  an  enquiry  previous 
to  the  establishment  of  some  Board  Schools,  a  "school" 
was  found  kept  by  a  poor  widow  in  a  room  10  feet 
A  "School"  in  by  8 J.  It  contained  three  low 
1870.  forms    and    a    few    articles   of   ordi- 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  33 

nary  household  furniture;  there  were  no  desks,  reading 

books,  nor  slates.     The  widow  only  professed  to  teach 

reading,  and  this  with  some  difficulty,  as  she  had  lost 

the  roof  of  her  mouth.     Since  there  were  no  books, 

she   taught   her   subject  by   means   of  posters   on   the 

wall   announcing   sales  by  auction,  and   especially  the 

performances  at  the  local  music-hall. 

Such  educationists  and  equipment  were  by  no  means 

unique.     In  the  earlier  part  of  the  century  hardly  any 

means  existed  for  the  training  of 
Unfitness  of  ,  ,     .  , 

Teachers  teachers,    and    in    many    cases    the 

mere  failures  at  other  trades  and 
crafts  took  to  teaching  the  young  as  the  last  possible 
resource.  It  illustrates  the  ordinary  attitude  in  England 
towards  education,  that  when  it  was  proposed  to  dis- 
place these  ineffectual  persons,  popular  sympathy  was 
largely  on  their  side,  since  meddlesome  people  sought 
to  deprive  them  of  their  means  of  earning  an  honest 
livelihood.  Great  complaint  was  made  of  the  sour 
temper  of  the  dame  schoolmistresses,  and  its  bad  effect 
upon  the  children.  Teachers  very  largely  followed 
some  other  occupation.  One  blind  teacher  is  men- 
tioned who,  in  the  intervals  of  hearing  lessons,  turned 
his  wife's  mangle.  On  the  occasions  when  dames  had 
a  washing,  a  neighbour,  or  neighbour's  child,  would 
mind  the  school.*     On  being  asked  the  number  of  her 

*  See  the  evidence  given  before  the  Select  Committee  on  the 
Education  of  the  Poorer  Classes,  1838.  Mr.  Gladstone  sat  on 
it,  and  was  very  wishful  the  poor  children  should  be  taught  singing 
to  rouse  them  out  of  the  languor  and  lassitude  of  which  everyone 
complained. 

P 


3\  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

scholars,  one  good  lady  said  she  had  never  counted 
them,  it  was  unlucky :  "  Look  at  the  mess  David  got 
into  by  counting  the  children  of  Israel."  But  even 
whilst  education  was  at  this  low  ebb,  it  was  not 
Educational  everywhere    the    same.      Manchester 

supremacy  of         does  not  seem  to  have  been  as  bad 
irming  am.  ^^  Liverpool,  and  it   was   universally 

admitted  by  the  witnesses  who  appeared  before  the 
Select  Committee  of  1838,  that  Birmingham  stood 
on  a  different  plane  altogether.  Manchester  is  said 
to  have  had  about  two-thirds  of  its  children,  between 
five  and  fifteen,  in  school  for  some  period  of  their  lives ; 
in  Liverpool  this  was  the  case  with  less  than  half  of  the 
children.  At  the  same  time,  1833,  out  of  sixty-five 
schools  at  Salford,  containing  12,000  children,  only 
five  were  found  to  be  fairly  well  provided  with  books. 
As  an  illustration  of  the  short  period  during  which 
children  stayed  at  school,  we  may  take  the  case  of  the 
model  school  of  the  British  and  Foreign  School  Society, 
mentioned  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Duppa  in  one  of  the  pamphlets 
issued  in  1837  by  the  Central  Society  of  Education. 
There  were  between  500  and  600  children  in  one 
room,  taught  by  one  master,  Mr.  Crossley,  and  monitors. 
For  one  year  there  were  697  entries.  Glancing  over 
a  large  number  of  figures  brought  before  the  Com- 
mittee, it  is  evident  that  the  proportion  of  girls  who 
went  to  school  was  very  much  smaller  than  that  of 
boys.  One  example  among  a  hundred  is  that  of  the 
Bethnal  Green  National  Schools,  where,  in  February, 
1838,  there  were  457  boys  and  214  girls,  and  some- 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  35 

times  the  girls*  schools  are  marked  as  closed,  or  dis- 
continued. 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  illiteracy  during  this 
period  was  rampant.      Of   1459  adult  paupers  in  the 

Norfolk  and  Suffolk  Unions,  in  1838, 
Illiteracy  in  «   «  ,  ,  ,  , 

England.  ^^^    could    not    read    or   write,   and 

200  did  so  very  imperfectly.     From 

1845   to   1850  inclusive,   45   to  49  per  cent,  of  the 

women  who  signed  the  marriage  register  did  so  by  a 

X;    31    to  33   per  cent,  of  the  men  did  the  same. 

About   i860   57   per  cent,  of  the  British  Army  were 

illiterate.     The  hands  of  the  Government  were  tied 

by  sectarian  bigotry.     Churchmen  and  Dissenters  were 

terrified  lest  one  party  should  get  an  advantage  over 

the  other. 

Nothing    can    more    deserve    admiration    than    the 

indomitable    energy    with    which    private    individuals, 

^    .    .  societies,  and  boards,  attacked  a  task 

Soaeties  at  ,        '  ^  ,     ,        , 

^Qj.jj^  so  herculean  and  apparently  hopeless 

as  the  education  of  the  people.     The 

State  was  not  ready,  but  they  were.     In  a  few  years  we 

find  the  Home  and  Colonial  Society  at  work  (1836),  the 

Central  Society,  London  Diocesan  Board,  Congregational 

Board,   Church  of  England  Sunday-school   Institute, 

Ragged  School  Union,  College  of  Preceptors,  Church  of 

England   Education    Society,    besides   the   Society   for 

Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  the  British  and  Foreign 

School  Society,  and  the  National  Society.     These  are 

central  institutions,   but  almost  every  locality  had   a 

society  of  its  own,  independent,  connected  with  these 


36  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

or  with  some  of  them.  In  London  alone  60  societies 
arose  in  30  years. 

Students  of  English  history  are  well  aware  that 
English  rights  or  liberties,  charters,  and  privileges  have 
How  the  State  been  obtained  because  Parliament 
began  to  control  retained  the  command  of  the  purse. 
Education.  ^j^^   Constitution   is  built   upon  the 

sound  principle  of  "no  supplies  without  redress  of 
grievances."  It  was  not  because  the  French  and 
Spanish  peoples  loved  despotism  that  their  States- 
General  and  Cortes  mildly  seconded  royal  commands; 
the  intensely  practical  English  mind  lighted  on  the 
means  of  control,  and  rarely  let  it  slip.  It  is  charac- 
teristic of  the  national  attitude  on  this  question  that 
the  State  control  of  Primary  Education  was  inaugurated 
in  1832  by  means  of  a  money  grant  of  ;£'2o,ooo,  merely 
placed  in  the  Estimates  without  any  legislation,  and 
used  for  educational  purposes  through  the  agency  of 
the  National  Society  and  the  British  and  Foreign  School 
Society.  The  summarized  history  of  State  control  of 
education  in  Britain  is  simply  the  increase  of  that  sum, 
and  the  increase  in  efficiency  of  the  schools  accepting 
State  aid.  "  Do  you  want  money  to  help  you  in  your 
work?"  says  the  Department  in  effect.  "Then  you 
must  accept  our  terms  and  regulations." 

From  this  first  money  grant  in  1832   originated  the 

creation   of    the   Committee    of    Council  in    1839    to 

supervise     the     work.       The     same 

The  Committee  ^^^    ^j^^    appointment    of    the 

of  Council,  1839.    '  ^f^ 

first   mspectors,    who   were   to   judge 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  37 

if  schools  deserved  the  help  they  claimed,  and  whose 
tact  and  ability  have  contributed  not  a  little  to  evolve 
a  system  and  coherency  out  of  vast  numbers  of  various 
schools.  Two  conditions  were  imposed  on  all  schools 
receiving  the  grant.  No  school  was  to  receive  aid 
unless  the  Bible  were,  at  least,  read  in  it  j  there  must 
besides  be  a  conscience  clause,  permitting  parents  to 
withdraw  their  children  from  religious  instruction. 
Church  schools  were  exempted  from  the  operation  of 
this  clause,  being  open  only  to  those  who  accepted  her 
religious  teaching. 

Mr.  Henry  Craik  points  out  in  T?ie  State  in  its 
Relation  to  Education  how  the  Government  most  of 
all  desired  to  begin  a  Normal  Training 
Teachers  College  for  Teachers,  since   teachers 

were  the  greatest  and  most  pressing 
need.  It  was  proposed  that  Nonconformists,  availing 
themselves  of  such  training,  should  have  secular  instruc- 
tion in  common  with  Churchmen,  but  have  religious 
instruction  of  their  own.  The  Church  bitterly  opposed 
the  scheme;  it  had  to  be  abandoned;  and  to  this  day 
there  is  no  State  Training  College,  the  Government 
simply  subsidizing  the  institutions  erected  by  the  sects. 

The  Government  Grant  rapidly  increased,  as  shown 
in  these  figures : 

1832            20,000 

1839            30,000 

1870            840,000 

1882            2,393,000 

1894            6,500,000 

1896-97  .         .       (estimated  expenditure)  7,122,000 


38  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

The  standard  of  education  remained  deplorably 
low.  In  a  careful  report  on  the  Midland  District  in 
Lowness  of  the  1^45  it  was  found  that  only  about 
Standard  of  one  child  in  six  could  read  the  Scrip- 

Education.  Kyxx^s  with    any    ease,   and   many   of 

these  could  read  no  secular  book.  About  one-half  the 
children  left  school  without  being  able  to  read;  only 
one  in  four  could  write  in  the  most  mechanical  fashion ; 
not  two  per  cent  could  work  a  small  sum  in  the  rule 
of  proportion.  This  was  due  to  the  deplorable  ignor- 
ance of  teachers  and  to  the  lamentable  monitorial 
system,  which  might  work  well  under  a  zealot  like 
Lancaster,  but  was  an  instrument  for  evil  in  the  hands 
of  the  dull  and  apathetic.  Totally  ignorant  boys  and 
girls  were  placed  in  command  of  classes  which  could 
in  no  way  profit  by  their  instruction;  the  teaching 
simply  meant  to  keep  the  children  quiet. 

An   improvement  was  affected  in    1846,   when    the 

Government  borrowed  the  pupil  teacher  system   from 

^,     „    ..  Holland.      Young    people    were    ap- 

The  Pupil  .     ,  ,       ,       ,        ,        r 

Teacher  System,    prenticed   to    the    head-teacher    from 

the     thirteenth     to     the     eighteenth 

year,  receiving  both  payment  and  instruction  for  their 

services.      Grants   were   ultimately  given    to    sectarian 

training  colleges,  as  already  stated,  in  order  to  secure 

better    training    for    intending    teachers,   largely  pupil 

teachers    who    had    served    their    apprenticeship    and 

been  drafted  into  the  colleges   by  means  of   Queen's 

scholarships.     After  a  two  years'  course  they  had  to  sit 

for  the  final  examination   for  the  teacher's   certificate. 


ELEMElSTTARY  OR  PRIMARY  39 

The  teacher's  parchment  is  only  bestowed  after  she 
has  successfully  taught  two  years  in  the  schools  of 
the  Department.  A  large  but  fortunately  decreasing 
proportion  of  teachers  are  still  not  fully  certificated, 
especially  in  Voluntary  Schools.  The  percentage  of 
untrained  are:  men,  29*21;  women,  5077.  It  is  of 
course  obvious  that  to  be  untrained  does  not  neces- 
sarily mean  to  be  incapable. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  dwell  upon  the  operation 

of   Original   or   Revised   Codes,   of    capitation   grants, 

payment     by    results,     augmentation 

e     e^sed  grants,    and     other    means     devised 

Code,  1861.  ?,„,._ 

by    the    Education    Department     m 

its  attempts  to  organise  national  education  by  gradual 
rather  than  sweeping  measures.  Capable  teachers  have 
always  grumbled  at  the  cast-iron  mould  into  which  the 
Department  has  poured  them,  and  doubtless  their 
objections  to  the  system  have  been  well  founded. 
Original  and  conscientious  teachers  have  certainly 
suffered;  they  could  have  done  better  with  a  freer 
hand.  But  laws  are  mostly  made  for  the  wicked,  and 
the  Department  has  had  to  deal  with  an  army  of 
teachers,  a  large  proportion  of  whom  may  have  meant 
well,  but  some  of  whom  were  neither  capable,  efficient, 
nor  well-educated.  Payment  by  results  may  have 
harassed  the  efficient;  it  has  caused  the  inefficient  and 
the  doubtful  to  keep  the  pace. 

If  we  survey  the  field  about  1870,  we  shall  find  a 
Before  1870  considerable  improvement  on  the  mid- 

century  state  of  affairs.     Accommoda- 


40  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

tion  had  improved,  but  it  was  and  remains  insufficient; 
there  existed  no  means  of  bringing  the  children  into  the 
schools;  the  teachers  were  not  of  the  same  status  as 
they  are  to-day ;  pupil  teachers  were  far  too  largely  used, 
they  and  a  head-teacher  often  staffing  a  whole  school ; 
the  infant  schools  were  little  better  than  nurseries;  the 
standard  required  of  the  children  was  absurdly  low.  In 
some  manufacturing  districts  quite  young  children  spent 
half  the  day  at  school  and  half  at  the  factory.  (Half- 
timers  are  disappearing.  When  this  paragraph  was  first 
written  in  1894  they  numbered  164,000,  chiefly  in 
Lancashire  and  Yorkshire;  in  1896  there  were  still 
127,000  too  many.)  The  main  faults  of  the  schools 
were  the  dull,  soulless  monotony,  parrot-like  repetition, 
mechanical  grinding. 

Up    to    1870  all    that  had    been    done    had    been 
achieved    by   minutes   of   the   Education   Department, 

_ ,       .       .  without  legislation.     In  1870,  after  a 

Education  Act,  ^  '   ' 

jg^Q^  long  struggle,  embittered  by  religious 

prejudice  and  jealousy,  Mr.  Forster's 
famous  Education  Bill  became  law,  under  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's First  Ministry.  The  Nonconformists  greatly 
opposed  it.  Since  its  passing  into  law,  the  Noncon- 
formists have  upheld  and  the  Church  opposed  it. 
Briefly  summarized,  the  great  measure  divided  the 
country  into  school  districts,  adopting  the  boundaries 
of  boroughs  for  towns,  of  civil  parishes  for  the  country. 
If  school  accommodation  were  deficient,  or  if  the 
The  School  inhabitants  desired  it,  a  School  Board 

Board.  was  to  be  elected  by  the  ratepayers, 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  \\ 

empowered  to  demand  from  the  rating  authority  the 
amount  required  for  school  provision  and  maintenance ; 
it  was  to  possess  the  power  of  erecting  and  managing 
schools.  All  schools  receiving  Government  aid  were  to 
be  worked  by  means  of  a  conscience  clause  \  catechisms 
and  formularies  distinctive  of  particular  religious  sects 
were  to  be  excluded  from  rate  -  supported  schools. 
School  Boards  had  optional  powers  to  make  attendance 
compulsory  between  the  ages  of  five  and  thirteen ;  they 
could  fix  the  standard  at  which  a  child  might  leave 
school,  and  often  they  fixed  it  pretty  low. 

Genuine  educationists  were  abashed  at  what  the  Act 
left  undone ;  others  at  what  the  Government  had  dared 
to  do.  The  former  noted  that  education  was  not  com- 
pulsory, not  free:  School  Boards  failed  to  cover  the 
country.  Yet  a  great  step  in  advance  dates  from  1870  ; 
all  State-aided  Church  schools  had  for  the  first  time 
to  submit  to  a  conscience  clause.  At  this  time  nine 
schools   out   of  every   ten  were  Church  schools.     The 

A  i.  r  o^ic  J  Acts  of  1876  and  1880  added  to  the 
Acts  of  1876  and  ' 

1880.  power  of  the  State  arm  in  education. 

The  former,  known  as  Lord  Sandon's 
Act,  set  up  a  new  authority,  called  the  School  Attend- 
ance Committee,  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  attendance 
where  no  School  Boards  existed.  The  Act  of  1870  did 
not  affect  such  districts.  They  were  now  empowered  to 
form  a  School  Attendance  Committee,  which,  strange 
to  say,  was  not  compelled  to  make  bye-laws  com- 
Compulsory  pelling    children    to    attend    school. 

Attendance.  Mr.  Mundella's  Act  in  1880  supplied 


42  EDUCATION  OP  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

the  necessary  compulsion.  The  Acts  forbad  the  em 
ployment  of  children  below  the  age  of  ten.  Exemp- 
tions from  school  attendance  between  the  ages  of  ten 
(now  eleven)  and  fourteen  are  legal  if  a  child  has 
passed  a  certain  standard,  usually  the  fourth,  to  be 
settled  by  each  Board.  Parents  neglecting  to  educate 
their  children  were  subjected  to  penalties ;  officers, 
known  as  school  attendance  officers,  were  appointed 
to  visit  children  absenting  themselves  from  school. 
The  last  great  link  in  the  chain  of  State  Education 

_      ^,      ..  was  the  Act  of   1891,  by  which  edu- 

Free  Education,  ^  >     / 

1891.  cation    was    declared    free.      Parents 

are  now  authorized  to  demand  free 
places  in  elementary  schools  for  their  children.  In 
1895,  16,493  schools  were  absolutely  free;  3132  con- 
tinued to  charge  fees,  though  admitting  free  scholars ; 
only  114  refused  what  is  technically  called  the  fee-grant 
of  the  Department,  los.  per  annum  for  each  child,  to 
replace  the  payment  of  fees. 

The  following  statistics  of  the  Education  Depart- 
ment, including  England  and  Wales,  may  be  found 
useful : 

England  has,  unlike  France,  a  very  large  child  popu- 

T-     1     ..   ^LM^     lation  in   comparison  with  her  adult 

England's  Child  ^ 

Population.  population.     Thus,  out  of  29,731,000, 

the  number  of  children  was  7,536,000. 

(The  figures  refer  to  1891.)     The  estimated  population 

for   1895   was   30,394,000;  but  probably  there   is  no 

alteration  in  the  proportion. 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  43 

1895.    Boys  and  Girls. 

Number    on    the    school  registers  receiving 

elementary  education   .            .  .        .  5>325>ooo 

Present  at  inspection       .            .  .         .  4,868,000 

In  average  attendance     .            .  .        .  4,325,000 

Girls. 

Number  receiving  elementary  education        .     (Not  known ; 

no  departmental  returns). 
Present  at  inspection       .  .  .        .     2,380,000 

In  average  attendance     .  .  .        .     2,079,000 

Note  that  ciphers  have  been  substittUed for  last  three  figures. 

The  Education  Act  of  1891,  which  came  into  force 
in  1892,  providing  free  education  wherever  parents  chose 
to  claim  it,  has  swept  a  large  number  of  infants  between 
three  and  five  into  the  schools.  The  Department 
inclines  to  the  opinion  that  it  has  also  increased  the 
attendance  of  the  older  scholars.  The  schools  which 
are  not  free  are  chiefly  voluntary,  and  therefore  Church 
schools.  In  1895  free  scholars  numbered  4,519,000, 
compared  with  780,000  paying  scholars. 

The  Department  has  a  great  army  of  teachers  work- 
ing under  it : 

Number  of                Certificated    teachers    {trained  and 

Teachers.                       untrained)     .            .             ,  .  53,000 

Assistant           .            .            .  .  28,000 

Additional         .            ,            .  .  11,600 

Pupil  Teachers .            .            .  .  30,000 

Studying  in  Training  Colleges  and 

Day  Training  Departments    ,  .  4,380 


44  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

Teachers  are  very  variously  paid,  according  to  sex, 
and  whether  their  school  is  Board  or  Voluntary  : 

Payment  of  1870.     Average    pay    of   Certificated 

Teachers.  Head-master     .  .        .      ;^94 

1895 £m 

1870       .            .            .        Mistress      ;^57 
1895 ;^87 

AVERAGE    PAY    DISTINGUISHING    BOARD    FROM 
VOLUNTARY    TEACHERS. 


Church  of  England 

Wesleyan  . 

Roman  Catholic    . 

British,  Undenominational,  &c.     £l^Z 

School  Board 

The  pay  of  teachers  is  steadily  rising;  indeed  the 
whole  profession  stands  in  a  different  position  from  what 
it  occupied  in  1870.  It  is  safe  to  prophesy  a  further 
rise  in  pay,  social  standing,  and  popular  estimation. 

The  difference  between  the  pay  of  masters  and 
mistresses  for  performing  much  the  same  work  is 
'H 1  ^  question  specially  interesting  to 
than  Men.  women.     The    authorities    at    White- 

hall have  no  explanation  to  offer  on 
the  subject.  It  is  worth  noting  that  the  percentage  of 
difference  between  the  salaries  of  a  Board  schoolmaster 
and  mistress  is  less  than  in  the  Voluntary  school. 

An  increasing  proportion  of  women  teachers  are 
being    employed    in    the    elementary   schools    of    the 


Mistresses' 

Head- 

Head-       percentage  of 
mistress.  Masters'  salary. 

master. 

£\2\ 

..  £n  ...  ^62 

£110 

..     ;^86     ...     ;^50 

£117 

..     ;^66     ...     ;^56 

£H3 

..     ;^8i     ...     £16 

£\^2 

..     ;^II4  ...     £70 

ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  45 

Proportion  of  country.  In  1869,  for  every  100 
Women  teachers    of    each    class,    48    certifi- 

Teachers.  cated,   60   assistant  teachers,  and   57 

pupil  teachers  were  women  and  girls.  In  1894  the 
proportions  had  increased  to  60  certificated  teachers, 
82  assistant  teachers,  and  79  pupil  teachers.  The 
teachers  in  the  Infants'  Department  are  all  women. 
(For  the  figures  see  page  166). 

How  the  cost  of  '^^^  ^^^^  ^^  Elementary  Education 
Elementary  in  England  and  Wales  is  met  in  two 

Education  is  met.    principal  ways  : 

{a)  A  grant  from  the  Imperial  Treasury,  estimated 
to  be,  for  1896-97,  ;£'7, 12  2,000.  The  Education  De- 
partment distributes  this  sum  to  School  Boards  and 
Boards  of  Managers  of  Voluntary  schools.  The 
efficiency  of  a  school,  as  judged  by  the  report  of 
the  inspector,  or  result  of  an  examination,  the 
adequacy  of  the  staff,  the  state  of  the  buildings,  the 
previous  record,  are  all  taken  into  consideration  in 
allocating  the  grant. 

{b)  Local  moneys  raised  thus : — (i)  Local  rates  paid 
to  the  local  School  Board  by  the  rating  authority. 
Board  schools  are  the  only  rate-supported  schools. 
The  rates  collected  for  this  purpose  in  1895  amounted 
to  ;^i,942,ooo.  (2)  Voluntary  contributions,  usually 
raised  through  religious  agencies  for  the  support  of 
Denominational  schools  which  receive  no  aid  from  the 
rates.  The  chief  of  these  are  the  Church  of  England 
and  Roman  Catholic  schools.  The  sum  raised  in  1895 
in  voluntary  contributions  was  ;£^836,ooo,  of  which  less 


46  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

than  ;£'2,ooo  was  devoted  to  Board  schools.  Volun- 
tary contributions  show  a  tendency  to  fall  off,  though 
they  have  slightly  risen  for  the  last  year  or  two. 

The  cost  per  child  in  Voluntary  schools  in  1895  was 
£^1  i8j.  i\\d.',  in  Board  schools,  £^2  \os.  \\d.  The 
first  sum  is  chiefly  made  up  by  grant 
CIjjIjj^  (from  all  sources),  voluntary  contribu- 

tions, endowment,  school-pence.  The 
second  by  grant  (from  all  sources),  rates,  school-pence. 
The  earning  of  Government  grant  is  commonly  re- 
garded as  a  test  of  efficiency :  Voluntary  schools  earn 
\Zs.  ^\d.  per  head;  Board,  19J.  5^. 

The  numbers  of  children  in  Voluntary  schools  are 
2,445,000 ;  in  Board,  1,879,000.    The  latter  have  shewn 

^,  ,  -  ^^  a  tendency  to  gain  upon  the  former. 
Numbers  of  the  y        o  r 

Children.  ^"^'  ^"  ^^^  mam,  possess  better  build- 

ings and  equipments,  more  highly 
certificated  and  better  paid  teachers,  the  result  of  having 
more  funds  at  their  disposal.*  It  is  only  fair  to  state 
that  many  village  schools  are  Voluntary,  having  always 
been  under  the  wing  of  the  Church  of  England.  Many 
Churchmen  claim  that  such  schools  need  aid  from  the 
rates;  those  who  are  opposed  to  sectarian  education 
sometimes  admit  this  claim,  but  advance  a  counter 
claim  for  control  by  the  ratepayers. 

*  Sir  John  Gorst  freely  admits  the  inferiority  of  the  Voluntary 
schools.  Comparing  them  with  the  Board  schools,  he  states  : 
"  They  have  worse  buildings,  worse  apparatus,  worse  paid  teachers, 
assistants  with  inferior  qualifications,  and  larger  classes  for  these 
teachers  to  instruct."  (See  his  article  in  the  November  number  of 
the  Nineteenth  Century,  1896.) 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  47 

The  standard  of  education  in  the  Elementary  schools 
cannot  be  termed  high,  though  of  recent  years  a  marked 
A  Typical  improvement   has  been  visible.     The 

Elementary  following   is   a   typical   curriculum   in 

Curriculum.  ^    gjj.lg>     school:  —  reading,     writing, 

arithmetic,  two  class  subjects  (English,  geography, 
history,  sewing,  singing) ;  one  specific  subject  (algebra, 
chemistry,  domestic  economy,  French,  cookery).  Drill 
is  now  commonly  taught  to  both  sexes;  without  it, 
the  higher  grant  cannot  be  earned. 

The  difference  in  the  curriculum  for  boys  and  girls 
is  that  drawing  is  compulsory  for  boys,  sewing  for  girls. 
How  Girls  ^  Treasury  rule  lays  down  that  a  girls' 

specialize  too  school  cannot  earn  the  drawing  grant 

**^  y*  unless  cookery  is  taken ;  and  practically 

this  is  prohibition.  In  order  to  proceed  further  in 
sewing,  the  teacher  may  also  take  it  as  a  class  subject 
instead  of  history  or  geography;  inspectors  are  in- 
structed to  accept  a  lower  standard  of  arithmetic  from 
girls  than  from  boys,  because  of  the  encroachment  on 
their  time  by  cooking  and  sewing.  In  many  cases  four 
or  five  hours  weekly  are  spent  upon  sewing.  Thus 
girls  lose  the  cultivation  of  their  powers  of  observation 
by  drawing ;  neglect  history  and  geography,  by  which 
the  mental  horizon  is  widened;  have  the  training  in 
precision  and  accuracy,  which  arithmetic  can  give, 
relaxed.  All  this  to  gain  skill  in  a  handicraft  for  which 
they  have  seldom  shewn  much  liking,*  and  which  is 

*  The  keeping  of  girls  to  the  needle  was  a  great  business  in 
olden  times.     The  elder  ladies  seem  to  have  found  that  it  depressed 


48  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

largely  rendered  useless   by  the  sewing   machine,  and 

by  the  growing  custom   among  all   classes   of  buying 

ready-made  garments,  especially  woven  garments,  which 

are  rapidly  superseding  all  others.     Those  who  are  not 

convinced  that  there   is   a  great   expenditure  of  time 

upon   so  uneducational  a  subject    as    sewing,   should 

attend     the     admirable    exhibition     of    the    work    of 

children  under  the  London  School  Board,  in  the  Hugh 

Myddelton  Schools,  Clerkenwell,  held  annually  in  July. 

The  most  elaborate  garments,  such   as  small  dresses, 

petticoats    and    pinafores    with    lace    insertion,    were 

ticketed,  in   1896,  as  having  been  worked  by  children 

of  six  or  seven,  with  hardly  any  assistance  from  the 

teachers.      On    the    other    hand,    the    importance    of 

drawing  can   scarcely   be  over-estimated.     "The  chief 

object    of    the    craftsman,"    observes    one    of    H.M. 

Inspectors,  "as  of  everyone  else  engaged  in  education, 

is  the  training  of  the  eye.  ...  It  is  the  schoolmaster's 

duty  to  train  faculties,  and  not  to  develop  facilities ;  it  is 

waste  of  time  to  teach  at  school  what  can  be  as  well  or 

better  taught  in  the  business  of  life." 

It  has  been  laid  down  as  a  rule  by  the  authorities 

on  Technical  Education,  that  no  trade  or  employment 

.  ,.         shall  be  directly  taught  in  elementary 
Early  specializa-        ,      ,        rr.,         .^      , 
tion  bad  for  boys,    schools.     Thus,  if  a  boy  means  to  be 

a  carpenter,  he  cannot  learn  carpentry 
as  part  of  the  school  curriculum  until  he  has  passed 
Standard  IV. 

the  spirits  of  the  younger  ones,  making  them  more  amenable  to 
control.     Consequently  the  needle  was  greatly  praised. 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  49 

It  is  remarkable  how  sound  educational  axioms  seem 
to  be  flung  to  the  winds  in  the  case  of  girls  f  for  them, 
sewing  begins  in  the  infant  school.  School  Boards 
and  Education  Departments  alike  seem  to  conspire  to 
deprive  girls  of  that  broader  general  training  which  is 
necessary  even  to  technical  skill.  And  now  we  see 
small  children  of  eleven  learning  cookery,  housewifery, 
laundry  work,  as  if  little  girls  could  not  be  too  early 
pressed  into  a  narrow  mould.  Authorities  on  the  em- 
ployment of  women  can  shew  that  inability  to  draw 
even  moderately  well,  the  lack  of  preciseness  which 
arithmetic  is  supposed  to  inculcate,  is  injurious  to  them 
when  they  enter  the  labour  market,  as  they  do  by 
millions.  Of  course  there  could  be  no  objection  to 
spending  an  hour  a  week  upon  sewing,  since  the  hand 
requires  to  be  trained ;  nor  to  older  girls  learning 
cookery,  laundry  work,  and  so  forth,  in  Technical  or 
Evening  Continuation  schools,  at  the  age  of  16,  or 
thereabouts.  Some  authorities  hold  that  no  difference 
should  be  made  between  the  education  of  the  sexes 
before  the  twelfth  year ;  if  sewing  is  good  for  girls  up 
to  that  age,  for  the  same  reasons  it  would  be  good 
for  boys. 

A  grievance  of  women  until  quite  recently  was  that 

no  woman  filled  the  post  of  inspector,  except  a  directress 

of  needlework.     In  the  spring  of  1896 

Women  as  ^j^^  Education  Department  appointed 

Inspectors.  ,.^    ,  ,    ,.  1   . 

two  qualified  ladies  as  sub-inspectors, 

•  See  Mrs.  Stanton  Blatch  on  this  subject  in  the  Journal  oj 
Education,  Oct.  1894. 

£ 


50  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

and,  moreover,  placed  them  on  the  same  footing  as 
men  with  regard  to  pay  and  other  conditions.  These 
appointments  gave  great  satisfaction.  It  is  worth  noting 
that  India  has  had  women  as  inspectors  of  schools  ever 
since  1880. 

It  is  evident  from  what  has  been  written  that  the 
present  century  has  seen  momentous  changes  in  the 
Weak  ooints  in  educational  world.  Much  has  been 
the  Elementary  done,  and  much  more  remains  to  do. 
System.  Speaking  generally,  the  teaching  in  the 

infant  department  and  upper  standards  is  relatively 
better  than  in  the  lower  standards,  from  the  second  to 
the  fourth  inclusive.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the 
numbers  are  very  large  in  these,  especially  as  compared 
with  the  upper  standards.  The  following  are  weak 
points  in  the  English  Elementary  System : 

(i.)  The  attendance  in  elementary  schools  is   poor. 

Not    only   are    some    districts    backward    in    enforcing 

.,,     ,  attendance,    but   the   children    attend 

Attendance. 

irregularly  when  on  the  registers.    The 

average  attendance  for  every  100  is  81 -61.     Allowance 

must  be  made  for  the  fact  that  very  young  children, 

from  3  years  of  age,  now  go  to  school  and  bring  down 

the  percentage  by  irregular  attendance.     But  even  the 

older  children's  attendance   is  86*91.      England  is  far 

behind    Germany    in    regular    attendance ;    the    most 

trumpery  excuse  is  too  often  urged  and  accepted  for 

absence  from  school. 

(ii.)  The  size  of  the  classes  is  sometimes  enormous; 

70,  80,  90,  and  even  100  have  been  found  in  one  class. 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  51 

This  of  course  almost  prohibits  per- 
Size  of  Classes 

sonal    relationship    between    teacher 

and  pupils,  it  lessens  and  even  nullifies  the  teacher's 

great  weapon  of  influence.     The  Department  recognizes 

the    importance    of    smaller    classes,    and    is    taking 

measures  to  secure  them. 

(iii.)  Children  are  permitted  to  leave  the  schools  at 

a  very  early  age.     Provided  she  has  passed  the  sixth 

standard  at  eleven,  a  child  may  leave 
Leaving  too  ^ 

young.  ^^  ^^^^  ^g^j  wholly  exempt  from  school 

attendance.     The  time  has  surely  now 

come  when  no  child  shall  be  permitted  to  leave  before 

the  age  of  fourteen.     The  half-time  system  needs  to  be 

abolished.    The  child  who  has  passed  the  third  standard 

in  the  country,  the  fourth  in  a  town,  may  usually  become 

a  half-timer. 

(iv.)  Pupil  teachers  are  far  too  much  left  in  control 

_    ..  _      .  of  classes  numbering  30  children,  and 

Pupil  Teachers.  ^  ^ 

sometimes  more. 

These  are  the  chief  defects  of  the  internal  regulation 

of  the  schools.     External  influences  hamper  them  not  a 

_  ^  _  ^       ,         little,  notably  the   bad   conditions  of 
Bad  External 

Conditions.  ^^^   ^^    certain    quarters    of    London 

and  other  great  cities.  Exorbitant 
rent  acts  almost  as  a  prohibitive  of  personal  cleanliness 
and  decency.  Many  children  are  ill  fed  and  ill  clad, 
ill  kept,  and  even  dirty.  The  Board  schools  in  large 
cities,  especially  London,  have  a  large  proportion  of 
such  children  to  deal  with.  Few  schools  fail  to  attach 
importance  to  manners  and  personal  cleanliness;   but 


52  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

bad  social  conditions  make  the  teacher's  task  one  of 
grave  difficulty. 

One  might  have  imagined  that  in  a  country  where  the 
extremes  of  wealth  and  poverty  strike  the  intelligent 
visitor  more  than  any  other  feature  of  our  social 
system,  all  classes  alike  would  have  combined  to 
secure  the  easy  development  of  the  elementary  schools, 
their  increased  efficiency  and  attractiveness.  Speaking 
generally,  the  schools  are  popular  and  appreciated, 
the  children  are  bright  and  happy.*  Yet  a  section 
of  the  nation,   largely  though   by  no   means   entirely 

^.       .  the   wealthy    and    comfortable,    from 

Education  ,      ^  .       \^.  . 

begrudged.  ^"^  Prime   Mmister  downwards,  per- 

sistently oppose  the  levelling  up  of 
the  schools,  especially  the  Board  schools,  and  every 
now  and  then  make  bitter  attacks  upon  them, 
proposing  to  cut  down  the  expenditure.  Notably 
is  this  the  case  with  the  London  School  Board,  which 
has  on  the  whole  performed  satisfactorily  a  task  of 
unparalleled  magnitude  and  difficulty.  It  pays  its 
teachers  well,  and  as  a  result  has  men  and  women 
of  character  and  capacity — many  of  them  the  real 
missionaries  of  London — in  its  service.  Within  ten 
years  the  London  School  Board  has  received  109 
complaints  from  Vestries,  District  Boards  of  Works, 
and  other  bodies.      Numerous  other  complaints  and 

*  Dr.  Buddensieg,  Principal  of  the  Government  Training 
College  at  Dresden,  visited  three  London  Board  schools  in 
September,  1896.  He  observed  afterwards  how  much  he  was 
struck  by  the  happy  and  interested  expression  of  the  children. 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  53 

votes  of  censure  on  the  growing  expenditure  of  the 
Board  have  been  prepared,  but  failed  of  acceptance  by 
the  majority.  Such  facts  are  an  instructive  comment 
upon  the  much  lauded  English  public  spirit.  The 
School  Boards,  in  particular,  have  to  deal  with  the 
lower  and  poorer  classes,  and  even  those  on  the 
borderland  of  vice.  The  mere  diminishing  the  num- 
bers in  the  classes,  a  highly  necessary  reform,  will 
add  to  the  expenditure  of  the  schools ;  and  those  who 
realize  its  importance,  hope  for  it  at  the  earliest  possible 
date.  The  greater  wealth  of  the  Board  schools  has 
undoubtedly  led  to  the  levelling  up  of  the  Voluntary 
schools :  they  have  led  the  movement. 

Mention  must  be  made  of  the  higher  grade  or 
upper  standard  schools,  in  which  education  is  continued 

„.  .      _     .  to    the    age    of    about    sixteen.      It 

Higher  Grade  ° 

Schools.  ^s  stated  that  the  education  of  girls 

is  more  commonly  carried  on  to  such 
an  age  than  that  of  boys,  who  go  to  work  earlier. 
Lower  standards  are  of  course  also  part  of  such 
schools,  the  work  of  the  upper  standards  being  addi- 
tional to  the  rest,  and  apt  to  result  from  the  energy 
of  capable  teachers  and  Boards  which  avoid  the  cheese- 
paring policy. 

School  Boards  have  also  devised  what  is  known  as 
Pupil  Teachers'  Centres.  In  the  past,  head  teachers 
p  ..  -,  .  ,  trained  the  pupil  teachers  before  and 
Centres.  ^^^r  regular  school  hours ;  a  plan  both 

wasteful  and  unsatisfactory.  Pupil 
teachers  are   now  grouped   at   centres,   of  which  the 


54  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

London  School  Board  alone  has  twelve,  where  2400 
students  of  both  sexes  are  taught  together.  An 
arrangement  is  made  by  which  the  time  of  the  pupil 
teacher  is  divided  between  the  school  to  which  she 
is  attached  and  the  centre,  and,  so  far,  the  results 
have  been  excellent.  Many  Boards  permit  Voluntary 
pupil  teachers  to  avail  themselves  of  the  privileges  of 
instruction  at  the  centre  upon  easy  conditions. 
Similar  arrangements  are  made  with  regard  to  instruc- 
tion for  children  at  cookery,  laundry,  and  housewifery 
centres.  As  time  goes  on,  the  Kindergarten  system 
is  adopted  more  and  more  for  young  children.  At 
three  years  of  age  the  Education  Department  recog- 
nizes the  youthful  scholar;  she  begins  the  onerous 
work  of  earning  a  grant  for  the  school.  A  few  are  sent 
below  this  age,  so  that  it  is  necessary  to  adopt  Kinder- 
garten methods  in  teaching  children  of  such  tender 
age.  The  infant  schools  up  to  1870  were  mere 
nurseries;  but  in  the  best  of  the  Kindergartens 
attention  is  paid  to  Froebel's  principles,  now  gaining 
ground  more  and  more.  In  the  great  three- block 
schools  it  is  common  to  find  nearly  three-sevenths 
of  the  total  number  of  children  in  the  infant  school. 
In  the  upper  divisions  reading  and  writing  are  usually 
well  advanced  when  the  child  is  ready  for  Standard  I. 

The  early  age  at  which  English  children  may  leave 

school    has    led    to    a    further    development    of    the 

Elementary     system      by     means     of 

Evening  Continu-  Evening  Continuation  schools,  which 
ation  Schools.  ° 

were   organized    under  the    Code   of 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  55 

1892.  At  first  they  were  indifferently  attended,  and 
hasty  persons  styled  them  failures,  at  least  as  far  as 
London  was  concerned.  The  judgment  was  premature, 
for  in  1895  these  schools  were  attended  by  270,000 
scholars,  the  majority  of  whom  pay  for  their  instruc- 
tion. The  list  of  subjects  is  lengthy,  and  though  the 
three  Rs  are  still  the  most  widely  taught,  the  report 
of  the  Committee  of  Council  states  that  the  curriculum 
will  probably  be  technical  in  character.  The  schools 
largely  replace  the  night  schools  of  former  days,  and 
are  partly  taught  by  day-school  teachers.  There  is  great 
need  for  them  in  country  districts,  where  educational 
opportunities  are  few.  Unhappily  scholars  also  are  few, 
so  that  there  is  a  need  for  voluntary  teachers,  who,  it  is 
said,  were  more  easy  to  find  when  the  old  night  schools 
were  at  work  than  nowadays. 

The  Education  Department  has  gradually  extended 
its  authority  over  eighty  schools  for  blind  and  deaf 
The  Blind  Deaf-  children.  1460  are  in  schools  for 
mutes,  and  Men-  the  blind ;  the  deaf  number  almost 
tally  defective.  3000.  Besides  these,  there  are 
schools  for  mentally  defective  children,  not  yet  paid 
for  on  a  higher  scale  than  the  ordinary  elementary 
school.  The  London  Board  maintains  26  such  centres 
for  special  instruction,  under  Mrs.  Burgwin's  superin- 
tendence; there  are  about  900  afflicted  children  in 
average  attendance. 

Strange  to  say  the  Department  has  not  yet  oversight 
of  the  Poor  Law  schools,  in  which  pauper  children 
are  boarded  and  educated.     These  schools  are  under 


56  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

the    supervision    of   the    Local    Government    Board. 
Complaint   was   at   one   time  rife  as 

oor    aw  ^Q    ^^    indifferent    treatment    these 

Schools. 

children     received,     and     the     large 

number  who  turned  out  social  failures.     To-day  better 

theories    and    conditions    prevail.     The    children    are 

not    to    blame    for    the    misfortunes,    folly,   or    even 

wickedness,   of  their  parents ;    in  any  case,   the  aim 

must  be  to  produce   the   best  possible   citizen  out   of 

the    material.      This    is    now   clearly  recognized,    and 

has  worked  a  revolution   in   the   environment  of  the 

children.     The   best  testimony  to  the  value  of  better 

treatment  is   their   improved  appearance,   health,   and 

the    positions   they  take   on   leaving   the   schools.     A 

difference  of    opinion   exists   as   to  the  value   of   the 

"barrack   school,"    i.e.    children   massed   together    by 

hundreds,  or  the  "cottage  home"  system,  where  they 

live  together  a  score  in  one  building.     At  the  first  blush, 

the  latter  seems  to  have  more  in  its  favour.     But  there 

are  two  objections  to  be  urged  against  it.     The  first  is 

the  loss  of  influence  by  separation  from  them  when  the 

master  and   matron   are  both  thoroughly  capable  and 

kind.     The  second  is  the  difficulty  of  finding   entirely 

suitable  persons   for  the   cottages,  which,  with  twenty 

children  in  them,  can  never  bear  a  strong  resemblance 

to  either  cottages  or  homes. 

Elementary  '^^^  history  of  Elementary  Education 

Education  in  in   the   Principality   of   Wales   is   not 

Wales.  devoid  of  interest.     Wales  is  a  poor 

country;   except  at  Cardiff  and  Swansea,  its  interests 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  57 

are  mainly  bound  up  in  mining,  fishing,  and  agriculture. 
Until  the  Government  began  to  pay  grants  in  aid, 
education  was  chiefly  conspicuous  by  its  absence.  And 
at  first  the  grants  were  looked  upon  with  distrust,  for 
the  Welsh  are  emphatic  in  their  dissent  from  the 
Episcopalian  Church ;  it  has  been  said  that  some 
thought  grants  must  be  a  device  to  gain  their  adhesion 
to  it. 

The  British  and  Foreign  and  National  Societies  were 
never  very  active  in  Wales;  and  for  this  reason,  as 
well  as  the  poverty  of  the  country,  education  in  the 
mid-century  is  said  to  have  been  at  an  even  lower  ebb 
than  in  England. 

The  Committee  of  Council  in  1846  directed  that 
an  inquiry  should  be  made  into  the  state  of  Welsh 
.  Education,  especially  into  the  means 

of  1846.  afforded    the     labouring    classes    of 

acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  English 
language.  As  the  Commissioners  did  not  know  Welsh, 
they  used  interpreters  \  they  drew  up  what  reads  like  a 
very  frank  account  of  what  they  saw  and  heard,  so  much 
so  that  they  evoked  an  outburst  of  fury  on  the  part  of 
the  Welsh.*  Mention  is  made  by  one  Commissioner 
of  the  "widespread  disregard  of  temperance,  ...  of 
chastity,  of  veracity,  and  fair  dealing"  in  Wales;  a  second 
alludes  to  "drunkenness,  blasphemy,  indecency,  sexual 
vices,  and  lawlessness  " ;  a  third  tells  us  of  social  and 
moral  depravity.     Many  large  districts  had  no  schools 

*  See  the  account  of  Welsh  Education  in  Messrs.  Swan  Sonnen- 
schein's  Cyclopadia. 


58  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

at  all ;   seventy-two  parishes   in   Brecknock,  Cardigan, 

and  Radnor  were  so  situated. 

The  schoolroom,  where  it  existed,  was  the  teacher's 

living  room,  the  loft  over  a  chapel  stables,  or  churches 

«       .      r  .,.         a^^d  chapels  themselves.      A  roof  or 

Poverty  of  the  . 

Welsh  Schools,      ^^or    without    holes,    a    fireplace,    a 

window  capable  of  admitting  sufficient 
light  or  any  air  were  uncommon.  A  few  trained  and 
able  teachers  were  to  be  found ;  but  many  of  them 
carried  on  their  teaching  with  such  honest  callings  as 
broom  and  clog-making,  cow-keeping,  etc.  The  teacher 
might  be  porter,  barber,  sexton,  publican,  matron  to  a 
lying-in  hospital,  drover;  and  some  received  parish  relief. 
Not  a  few  were  devoid  of  the  rudiments  of  education; 
and  so  ignorant  of  English,  the  language  in  which  they 
professed  to  teach,  that  the  Commissioners  could  only 
speak  to  them  through  interpreters.  School  registers 
were  unknown ;  even  the  model  school  at  Newport  had 
none.  State  aid  began  a  better  era,  the  Welsh  people 
being  truly  appreciative  of  education.  After  the  Revised 
Code  of  1 86 1,  600  schools  were  found  in  the  country. 
H.M.  Inspector  reported  that  "the  prospects  of  educa- 
tion were  sufficiently  hopeful  and  encouraging." 

After   the  Act   of    1870,   School   Boards   multiplied 
rapidly,  because  Church  schools  are  displeasing  to  the 

,„  ,  ,   ^  ^    ,        majority  of  the  people.     Welsh  School 

Welsh  School  ^       ^  ^     ^ 

•Qq2s6..  Boards  now  number  328,  as   against 

2159   in   England,   the   former   being 

relatively  more  numerous.     From  1870  onwards  Welsh 

educational  development  has  been  more  assimilated  to 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  59 

that  of  England.  Special  instructions  are  issued  by 
the  Education  Department  that  Welsh  may  be  used 
side  by  side  with  English  in  the  schools  of  Welsh- 
speaking  districts,  in  order  to  facilitate  intelligent 
comprehension.  Inspectors  make  use  of  Welsh  to 
test  the  children.  It  is  perhaps  worth  noting  that 
the  Welsh  earn  a  proportionately  larger  grant  than 
the  English  schools.  Omitting  the  capital  charges  in 
1894-95— 

England  spent  Wales  spent 

Rates  .  ...     56.7  ...  49-4 

Grants,  fees,  &c.      .        ,        .43*3  •••  5o*6 

(N.B. — Only  Board  schools  may  use  the  rates.) 

Education  is  cheaper  in  Wales  than  in  England : 
Each  Board  school  child  cost  the  State  and  municipality 
in  1895  £^2  4s.  42d.,  whereas  in  England  the  cost 
was  £^2  I  OS.  7jd.  The  total  number  of  elementary 
schools  in  Wales  is  1467,  of  which  725  are  Board 
schools. 

In  closing  this  brief  survey  of  the  Elementary  Educa- 
tion of  England  and  Wales,  it  may  perhaps  be  well 
to  call  express  attention  to  the  great 

Great  changes  changes  which  have  taken  place  It 
in  Elementary 

Education.  ^^    "°^    uncommon     to    hear     fairly 

intelligent  secondary  teachers  allude 
to  the  work  of  the  Education  Department  as  if  the 
Revised  Code  of  1861  and  the  system  of  payment 
by  results  were  still  in  full  force.  This  would  appear 
to  shew  the  isolation  in  which  teachers — especially,  it  is 
to  be  feared,  women-teachers —are  often  content  to  work. 


6o  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

Payment  by  results  has  almost  disappeared.  It  first 
took  the  form  of  payment  on  individual  passes;  then 
a  percentage  of  passes,  modified  by  means  of  a  merit 
grant,  so  that  the  conscientious  and  intelligent  teacher 
might  not  be  too  hard  pressed.  When  payment  for 
individual  passes  was  abolished,  the  Government  grant 
still  depended  upon  the  annual  examination ;  Her 
Majesty's  Inspector  examined  classes  chosen  by  him 
from  the  standards,  to  which  the  teacher  had  the  right 
of  adding  a  certain  number.  Under  the  Code  of  1896 
the  grant  was  made  to  depend,  in  all 
Grant  now  -^^^  ^  ^^^  cases,  upon  two  or  more 

depends  on  ,  .       .  .     ,     tt     ,r  •       , 

inspection.  annual  surprise  visits  by  Her  Majesty's 

Inspector.  This  important  change 
was  largely  due  to  representations  made  by  the  National 
Union  of  Teachers,  a  powerful  professional  organization. 
Elsewhere  it  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  success'of  this 
revolution  depends  upon  the  thorough  conscientiousness 
of  the  teachers.  The  following  concise  resumS  may 
show  more  clearly  the  steps  by  which  the  Department 
has  reached  its  present  method  of  allocating  the  grant : 

1.  Individual  passes  +  fixed  grant. 

2.  Percentage  of  passes  +  merit  grant  +  fixed  grant. 

3.  Variable  grants  in  accordance  with  general 
efficiency,  tested  by  the  annual  visit  of  H.M. 
Inspector  with  notice. 

4.  Same  as  No.  3,  but  tested  by  two  or  more  annual 
visits  without  notice. 

The  Department  thus  scarcely  deserves  the  oft-urged 
accusation  of  rigidity,  if  we  look  at  its  operations  over 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  6l 

a  sufficiently  lengthy  period.  The  curriculum  has  been 
greatly  expanded;  the  Code  is  so  often  altered,  that 
the  N.U.T.  issues  yearly  an  edition  of  20,000  copies, 
annotated  and  simplified,  so  that  its  members  may 
readily  comprehend  the  frequent  changes.  The  inward 
meaning  of  the  changes  simply  testifies  to  the  fact  that 
the  Department  can  now  trust  the  teachers,  as  it  was 
unable  to  do  in  the  earlier  years  of  its  existence. 

A  recent  addition  to  the  staff  of  the  Education 
Department  testifies  to  its  readiness  to  ascertain  what 
is  being  done  in  the  world  of  education,  and  its  desire 
to  profit  by  the  experience  of  other  nations.  In  1895, 
during  the  Vice-Presidency  of  the  Right  Hon.  A.  H.  D. 
Acland,  the  section  known  as  Special  Inquiries  and 
Reports  was  instituted,  the  directorship  of  which  was 
accepted  by  Mr.  M.  E.  Sadler.  The  Report  of  the 
Committee  of  the  Council  on  Education,  1894-95, 
states  that  "the  increasing  importance  and  complexity 
of  the  questions  which  are  now  constantly  arising  for  our 
decision  have  rendered  it  necessary  for  us  to  have  the 
assistance  of  an  officer  charged  with  the  special  duty  of 
keeping,  so  far  as  may  be  found  practicable  or  expedient, 
a  systematic  record  of  educational  work  and  experiments, 
both  in  this  country  and  abroad."  The  Director  also 
supplies  the  Department  with  information  upon  any 
special  question  connected  with  educational  matters, 
and  to  this  end  sometimes  spends  weeks,  or  it  may  be 
months,  abroad.  Part  of  the  educational  library  of  the 
S.  Kensington  Museum,  viz.,  books  on  pedagogy  and 
educational  administration,  have  recently  been  removed 


62  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

to  43,  Parliament  Street,  the  close  neighbourhood  of  the 
offices  of  the  Education  Department,  where  it  will  be 
more  useful  for  purposes  of  reference  than  in  its  late 
location.  The  Hbrary  will  be  opened  to  the  public  at 
convenient  hours,  and  is  to  be  placed  under  the  charge 
of  the  Director  of  Special  Inquiries  and  Reports.  Both 
these  and  other  changes  testify  to  the  increasing  scope 
and  activity  of  the  Education  Department. 

It  may  here  be  noted  that  there  is  less  differentiation 
in  the  elementary  education  of  the  sexes  than  in  any 
other  section.  The  exceptions,  the  too  early  specializa- 
tion of  girls  in  sewing  and  its  results,  as  well  as  the 
tendency  for  girls  to  stay  later  at  school  than  do  boys, 
have  been  commented  on  in  their  place. 

VISIT  TO  A  BOARD  AND  A  VOLUNTARY  SCHOOL 

It  was  suggested  to  the  writer  that  it  might  be  well 
to  visit  typical  Board  and  Voluntary  schools,  and  to 
record  the  most  noteworthy  features  visible  on  a  brief 
visit.  The  two  schools  were  recommended  by  a  com- 
petent judge  as  excellent  of  their  kind,  and  were  not 
selected  by  the  writer.  Both  lie  within  the  four-mile 
radius  of  St.  Paul's,  and  a  whole  morning  was  devoted 
to  each. 

The  Voluntary  school  was  the  first  visited.  It  forms 
one  of  the  usual  three-block  type :  girls,  boys,  infants ; 
each  department  separate  under  its  own  head.  The 
girls'  school  is  in  good  buildings,  rather  picturesque 
to  view,  but  not  properly  adapted  for  the  purpose,  since 
they  are  used  for  a  Sunday  school  and,  probably,  for 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  63 

parish  or  Church  meetings  likewise.  They  consist  of 
one  large  main  hall,  one  large  and  one  fair-sized  class- 
room. Since  the  classes  number  five,  this  means  that 
three  classes  must  be  held  in  the  large  hall.  These  the 
mistress  had  carefully  partitioned  from  each  other  by 
means  of  curtains ;  but  curtains  have  a  way  of  gaping, 
and  the  noise  made  by  each  class  was  more  than 
audible  to  the  -other.  Moreover,  the  small  class-room 
was  reached  through  this  hall,  an  additional  disad- 
vantage. 

The  mistress  had  held  her  certificate  prior  to  the 
days  of  Board  schools ;  she  appeared  a  woman  of  wide 
experience,  kindly,  capable,  ready  to  move  with  the 
times,  to  profit  by  the  changes  now  taking  place.  It 
was  evident  that,  given  these  buildings  and  conditions, 
the  best  possible  was  being  done  for  the  children. 

An  evident  disadvantage  was  the  small  playground; 
of  this,  the  boys  had  half,  the  remaining  half  being  for 
girls  and  infants.  Girls  and  boys  would  each  number 
about  350 ;  infants,  400.  Of  course,  girls  and  infants 
use  the  playground  at  different  times.  Another  dis- 
advantage was  the  under-staffing  of  the  school,  a  result 
of  its  poverty.  Two  assistants,  on  leaving,  had  their 
classes  and  salaries  divided  among  the  remaining  five 
teachers.  The  classes  are  no  larger  than  Board  schools 
often  have,  the  largest  appearing  to  be  70  on  the  books, 
which  usually  means  60  present.  Excellent  lessons 
were  being  given  in  geography,  arithmetic,  and  so  forth ; 
one  class  of  a  dozen  little  girls,  backward  in  arithmetic, 
was  being  taught  by  a  senior  scholar,  who  had  concrete 


64  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

examples  of  tens  and  hundreds  in  small  bundles  of 
sticks.  In  another  class,  the  girls  were  being  measured 
in  inches  for  their  height,  each  total  being  reduced  to 
feet.  On  inquiry,  the  salaries  of  the  teachers  were 
ascertained  to  be:  head-mistress,  £1.^0  and  a  house; 
the  five  assistants  earn  from  £^0  to  £()o,  only  the  last 
being  a  trained  mistress.  Four  assistant  teachers  are 
therefore  ex-pupil  teachers,  without  even  the  moderate 
equipment  that  a  Training  College  course  affords.  The 
mistress  of  the  infants  has  jQiio  and  a  house.  She  has 
five  ex-pupil  teacher  assistants,  with  salaries  varying  from 
;£"45  up  to  £to.  The  infant  mistress  herself  has  to 
give  lessons  to  her  pupil  teachers  between  8.30  and 
9.30  a.m.;  a  pleasant  preparation  for  dealing  with 
large  classes  of  small  children  in  the  heat  of  July. 

Talking  to  the  head-mistress  of  the  girls'  department 
over  the  difficulty  of  retaining  her  capable  teachers, 
she  observed  that,  although  personally  they  were  loyal 
to  herself,  they  were  constantly  drafted  into  Board 
schools,  where  better  pay  and  conditions  obtain, 
leaving  with  many  regrets. 

Amongst  the  advantages  of  this  school  the  mistress 
named  the  supervision  and  kindly  help  and  advice  of 
the  vicar  under  whom  she  worked.  The  children  here 
pay  3d.  weekly  as  school-pence,  and  this  fact,  as  well 
as  a  rather  superior  neighbourhood,  tends  to  bring 
better-class  children  to  the  school.  They  are  particu- 
larly neat,  clean,  and  well-mannered.  The  mistress 
explained  that  a  widow's  children  are  taken  free,  and 
the  pence  are  also  remitted  when  the  bread-winner  is 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  ^t, 

out  of  work.  Although  the  school  furniture  is  not 
up  to  date — far  too  big  girls  sitting  at  small  desks — yet 
the  rooms  are  clean,  bright,  nicely  ornamented  with 
flowers.  Another  advantage  in  dealing  with  better-class 
children  is  that  they  can  do  a  little  home-work — not 
much  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  but  enough  to 
prove  that  they  can  take  a  few  steps  alone.  Some  of 
the  girls  of  the  first  class — a  composite  class  made  up 
of  sixth,  seventh,  and  ex-standard  girls — attend  cookery 
and  laundry  classes  at  the  nearest  centre;  domestic 
hygiene  is  taught  in  the  school  itself. 

The  Board  school  visited  is  in  a  neighbourhood  not 
nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  Voluntary  school.  It  is  a 
free  school,  and  the  class  of  children  poorer  and  not 
well  kept.  The  girls'  dress  contrasted  disadvantageously 
with  that  of  the  boys  in  the  same  school :  the  boys'  close- 
cropped  hair  and  closely  fitting  garments  must  be  more 
convenient  in  one  or  two-roomed  tenements  than  a  mop 
of  unkempt  hair ;  the  girls*  washable  dresses  and  pina- 
fores did  not  manifest  any  recent  acquaintance  with  the 
wash-tub.  Every  class  has  its  separate  room,  both  for 
boys  and  girls ;  every  one  of  these  was  entered.  They 
are  well  kept ;  the  extremely  plain  walls,  of  rough  brick, 
painted  or  coloured,  are  hung  with  school  pictures  and 
illustrations.  Much  is  said  against  Board  school 
manners,  but,  doubtless,  coarse,  careless  parents  must 
bear  almost  all  the  blame.  In  every  class  the  children 
rose  as  the  visitor  entered  or  left  the  room,  the  master 
observing  that  outside  he  could  hardly  expect  them  to 
behave  differently  from  the  ordinary  gamins.     Both  the 

F 


66  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN 

master  and  mistress  are  suitable  people  for  the  work 
they  have  undertaken,  entering  it  much  in  the  spirit 
of  missionaries,  and  with  considerable  zeal. 

Salaries  are  higher  than  in  Voluntary  schools.  The 
income  of  the  head-mistress  is  ;^i92,  rising  £^^  yearly 
(no  house);  that  of  her  assistants,  £,^^  to  ;£"i25,  the 
latter  being  a  maximum.  Each  of  these  is  a  trained 
teacher,  equal  to  the  head  in  all  but  experience.  The 
latter  was  asked  if  the  London  School  Board  objects  to 
untrained  mistresses :  "  I  am  not  sure ;  but  I  do,"  was 
the  emphatic  reply.  The  size  of  the  classes  is  much 
the  same  as  in  the  Voluntary  school,  about  60;  the 
mistress  readily  admitted  that  in  such  classes  there  can 
be  hardly  any  study  of  individuality  in  mind  or  character. 
The  young  scholar  must  be  drilled  into  a  certain  groove, 
and  out  of  it  can  hardly  step.  No  homework  can  be 
attempted  at  this  school,  home  conditions  not  permit- 
ting of  it.  The  mistress  stated,  as  a  result  of  previous 
inquiry,  that  most  of  her  girls  go  to  bed  at  10,  11, 
and  even  midnight,  just  when  their  parents  do,  since 
ordinarily  the  living  room  is  used  at  night  as  a  bed- 
room. Boys  play  in  the  basement  of  the  school,  girls  on 
the  roof,  and,  strange  to  say,  the  girls  have  the  largest 
playground.  However,  atonement  is  made  by  the  boys 
using  it  for  drill  p;irposes.  The  Board  school  girls 
were  found  to  be  very  young :  whereas  in  the  Voluntary 
school,  in  the  upper  class,  a  fair  sprinkling  of  the  girls 
were  fifteen  or  sixteen,  the  Board  girls  of  Standard 
VI.  had  only  a  few  as  old  as  thirteen,  most  being 
twelve.     The  great  thing  in  certain  districts  is  to  join 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  67 

the  ranks  of  wage-earners  at  the  earliest  possible  time. 
In  the  Board  school  is  a  lending  library  of  suitable 
books,  a  small  museum,  and  in  several  class-rooms 
were  such  natural  history  illustrations  as  tadpoles 
developing  into  frogs.  The  boys'  school  has  only  one 
pupil  teacher,  the  girls'  two.  One  of  these  was  busy 
teaching  foreign  children,  of  whom  the  neighbourhood 
has  a  large  number,  to  read  English,  many  of  them 
coming  to  school  scarcely  knowing  a  word. 

Just  as  the  Voluntary  school  can  be  greatly  benefited 
by  the  constant  interest  of  a  vicar,  who  is  also  an 
educationist,  so  the  London  Board  school  has  outside 
visitors,  called  managers,  one  of  whom  entered  the 
mistress's  room  on  the  occasion  of  the  writer's  visit  Of 
the  three  managers,  one  takes  oversight  of  the  drains  and 
lavatories,  one  has  charge  of  a  country  holiday  fund, 
the  third  accompanies  scholars  to  galleries  and  museums. 
Through  the  kindness  of  some  outsider,  a  nurse 
occasionally  visits  this  school,  attending  to  cuts,  bruises, 
sore  eyes,  deafness,  and  such  like  ailments.  Much  is 
said  touching  the  extravagance  of  the  London  School 
Board.  The  mistress  stated  that  on  the  school  premises 
are  some  capital  spray  baths,  out  of  repair,  and  which 
the  Board  declines  to  put  in  order  for  the  use  of  the 
girls.  It  seems  a  pity  that  where  baths  are  so  greatly 
needed,  and  where  home  circumstances  make  personal 
cleanUness  almost  impossible,  the  intolerable  strain  of 
dirt  could  not  be  relieved. 

Both  the  Voluntary  and  Board  school  mistresses  are 
relieved  of  responsibility  for  any  special  class,  and  use 


68  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

their  time  in  supervision  and  the  teaching  of  special 
subjects  in  the  different  classes.  Both  are  Church- 
women,  and  greatly  impressed  with  the  importance  of 
religious  instruction.  In  the  Church  school,  every 
day  a  Scripture  lesson,  either  Bible  or  Catechism,  is 
given,  lasting  40  minutes ;  in  the  Board  school  the  Bible 
lesson  lasts  30  minutes.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
refute  the  careless  statement  that  there  is  no  religious 
teaching  in  Board  schools.  In  the  boys'  rooms,  there 
was  hanging  a  carefully  arranged  Scripture  time  table, 
covering  several  months.  Both  mistresses  and  master 
were  emphatic  in  their  declaration  that  no  religious 
difficulty  exists  in  the  schools.  The  Voluntary  mistress 
has  had  a  few  scholars  withdrawn  from  the  Catechism 
lesson;  the  Board  mistress  has  Roman  CathoHcs  and 
young  Jewesses  withdrawn  from  her  Scripture  instruc- 
tion. The  latter  had  been  mistress  of  a  Voluntary 
school  in  Leicester,  commonly  supposed  to  be  a 
freethinking  community;  but  even  there  no  practical 
difficulty  had  ever  arisen. 

Both  ladies  commented  on  the  readiness  of  the 
Education  Department  to  alter  codes  and  regulations, 
to  make  room  for  the  teacher's  individuality,  to  consult 
the  needs  of  a  neighbourhood.  They  found  excellent 
advice  and  help  in  the  inspectors,  from  whom  they  had 
received  valuable  suggestions.  History  and  geography 
were  scarcely  taught  in  one  of  the  schools,  an  occasional 
reading  lesson  or  so  summed  up  the  instruction  in  these 
subjects ;  they  were  very  little  taught  in  the  other.  The 
time   of  the   girls   is    encroached    upon    by   domestic 


ELEMENTARY  OR  PRIMARY  69 

economy,  and  especially  by  sewing  and  knitting.  In 
one  school,  the  time  devoted  to  sewing  and  knitting 
is  four  and  a  half  hours  weekly.  Neither  lady  seemed 
to  recognize  the  danger  incurred  and  loss  suffered  by 
too  early  specialization :  and  it  is  probable  that  such 
recognition  will  not  proceed  from  women.  The  Board 
school  teacher  stated  that  the  majority  of  women 
teachers  working  under  the  London  Board  are  Church- 
women. 


Section  II. 
Seconbat^  lEbucation 

Speaking  broadly,  Secondary  Education  embraces 
all  that  lies  between  Elementary  Education  and  the 
universities  or  colleges  of  university 
rank.  As  has  been  already  shown, 
Elementary  Education  is  distinctly  on  the  up-grade. 
It  is  both  widening  and  deepening;  the  better  class 
of  elementary  schools  have  already  taken,  or  are  pre- 
paring to  take  the  position  of  what  the  Schools  Inquiry 
Commission  of  1865-67  called  the  Third  Grade  of 
Secondary  Education.  Especially  is  this  the  case  with 
the  Higher  Grade  schools,  many  of  which  must  be 
regarded  as  doing  secondary  work.  These  schools 
supply  a  real  need ;  and  as  they  obtain  grants  from 
the  Education  Department  on  the  ordinary  conditions 
set  forth  in  the  Code,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  a  hard  and 
fast  line  between  Elementary  and  Secondary  Education 
is  not  possible.  Such  Higher  Grade  schools  are  not 
confined  to  Board  schools,  but  may  be  found  also 
working  as  Voluntary  schools. 

It  may  perhaps  illustrate  the  confusion  and  even 
chaos  that  exists  in  Secondary  Education,  and  especially 
Chaos  of  English  on  the  border-line  dividing  it  from 
Secondary  Elementary  Education,  if  two  quo- 

tations are  made  from  speakers  at 
the  Oxford  Conference  on  Secondary  Education,*  held 

*  Report  of  a  Conference  on  Secondary  Education. 
70 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  ^\ 

in  1893.  Alluding  to  the  Higher  Grade  schools,  Dr. 
(now  Sir  Joshua)  Fitch  said  "They  are  not  Secondary 
schools";  the  Secretary  of  the  Association  of  Head- 
masters of  Higher  Grade  and  Organized  Science 
schools,  describing  his  own  school  as  typical  of  the 
rest,  declared  "  It  is  not  at  any  rate  anything  like  a 
Secondary  school."  The  wisdom  of  the  Royal  Com- 
mission of  1894-95  decided  otherwise:  "The  Higher 
Grade  Elementary  schools  are  really  secondary  in  their 
character."  Such  conflicting  statements  by  the  autho- 
rities illustrate  the  difficulty  of  classification.  At  this 
Conference  the  Rev.  E.  F.  M.  MacCarthy,  Head-master 
of  one  of  King  Edward  VI. 's  Schools  at  Birmingham, 
stated  that  "Despite  the  reforming  operations  of  the 
Charity  Commissioners,  the  chaos  of  Secondary  Edu- 
cation has  increased  since  1867,  owing  to  the  effect 
of  the  Education  Act  of  1870,  and  the  subsidies 
granted  for  the  purposes  of  Technical  Education." 

The  share  that  was  given  to  girls  in  the  old  endowed 
Share  of  Girls  in  grammar  schools,  which  provided 
the  Grammar  the    Secondary    Education    of   the 

Schools.  country    for    a    lengthy    period,    is 

problematical.  Miss  Emily  Davies  tried  to  convince 
the  Royal  Commissioners  of  1865-67  that  where  girls 
were  not  expressly  excluded  from  the  endowment,  as 
at  Harrow,  they  were  included ;  but  though  favourable 
to  the  education  of  girls,  the  Commissioners  could  not 
agree  with  her.  We  have  already  seen  how  Richard 
Mulcaster,  favourable  to  girls'  education,  and  deeply  im- 
pressed with  their  abilities  and  achievements,  writes  in 


72  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN 

1 58 1  that  it  is  "not  the  custome  of  my  countrie  to  set 
young  maidens  to  public  grammar  scholes,"  though  by 
this  expression  he  may  simply  have  meant  his  part  of  the 
country.  A  writer  in  the  Quarterly  Review^  vol.  146, 
says  it  is  evident  that  boys  and  girls  were  put  on  a 
level  in  the  old  grammar  schools,  since  quaint  little 
figures  of  each  still  stand  over  venerable  portals  in  old 
market  places.  He  quotes  Crewkerne,  in  Somerset, 
where,  he  says,  the  boys  simply  took  possession  of 
what  was  meant  for  both  sexes. 

In  the  well-known  case  of  Christ's  Hospital  we  stand 
on  certain  ground.     The  famous  hospital  was  certainly 

meant  for  the  poor  and  for  both  sexes ; 
H  ^^^ -tll^^"^**^     for  many   years   it  was  largely  used 

as  a  foundlings'  home.  Bishop  Ridley 
speaks  of  the  "  thousands  of  poore  silly  (weak)  members 
of  Christ,  who  were  holpen  and  brought  up  in  it." 
In  the  great  hall  to-day  hangs  Verrio's  picture  shewing 
fifteen  girls  and  as  many  boys,  kneeling,  received  at  an 
audience  granted  by  James  II.  But  the  hospital  was 
governed  by  men,  and,  moreover,  by  wealthy  men. 
The  Schools  Inquiry  Commission  of  1865-67  found 
the  usual  results  of  such  government:  11 24  boys, 
chiefly  of  the  well-to-do  classes,  were  then  being 
educated  in  it,  and  22  girls.  Undoubtedly  in  the 
case  of  a  foundling  hospital  there  existed  no  reason 
whatever  for  special  advantages  for  boys.  The  whole 
question  as  to  the  share  of  girls  in  the  grammar  schools 
is  of  interest,  and  more  than  a  mere  archaeological 
interest.      England    has    always    carefully    avoided    a 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  73 

uniform  policy,  and  it  may  well  have  been  that  in  certain 
towns  and  districts  where  girls'  education  had  flourished 
under  the  wing  of  the  monastery,  provision  was  made 
for  its  continuance,  even  though  these  cases  may  have 
been  a  small  minority.  A  very  general  result  of  the  Re- 
formation was  that  girls  were  shut  out  of  the  secondary 
schools,  and  that  during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries  they  betook  themselves  to  the  cultivation  of 
the  noxious  brood  of  "accomplishments."  Knowledge 
for  itself  was  an  insufficient  aim;  it  might  be  sought 
for  what  it  would  bring.  The  boarding-school  system 
grew  up,  especially  during  the  eighteenth  century,  as 
the  great  forcing- houses  of  accomplishments,  where 
education  was  "finished"  in  the  most  complete  sense 
of  the  term.  Mrs.  Makins'  prospectus  shows  us  what 
was  regarded  as  a  good  educational  programme  at  that 
time.  This  excellent  lady  opened  a  "ladies'  school" 
in  1693,  i^^r  Tottenham  High  Cross,  "where  .... 
gentlewomen  may  be  instructed  in  the  principles  of 
religion,  and  ....  in  all  things  taught  in  other 
schools.  As,  work  of  all  sorts,  dancing,  musick, 
singing,  writing,  keeping  accompts;  half  the  time 
to  be  spent  in  these  things,  the  other  half  to  be 
employed  in  gaining  the  Latin  and  French  tongues; 
and  those  that  please  may  learn  Greek  and  Hebrew, 
the  Italian  and  Spanish,  in  all  which  this  gentlewoman 
hath  a  competent  knowledge."  If  time  allowed,  the 
curriculum  was  also  to  embrace  the  whole  circle  of  the 
sciences,  including,  no  doubt,  orthography,  etymology, 
and  prosody,  and  such  trifles  as  arithmetic  and  history. 


74  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN 

Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  Miss  Frances  Willard  in 
England  in  1892,  she  was  discussing  with  a  friend  some 
of  the  phases  of  English  life.  "This  is  a  country," 
said  she,  "where  man  is  king;  woman,  courtier." 
Another  American,  Mr.  R.  G.  White,  came  to  a  similar 
conclusion  when  he  wrote,  in  1881,  "England  is  a 
Paradise  for  men."* 

The  lack  of  consideration  shewn  to  women  and  their 
interests  has  seldom  received  a  more  convincing  illus- 
Women's  Interests  Oration  than  when  the  Schools  Inquiry 
not  considered—  Commission  in  1865  prepared  to 
an  illustration.  j^quire  into  the  condition  of  boys' 
secondary  schools  only.  It  reminds  one  of  the  French 
peasant's  observation :  "  Je  n'ai  pas  d'enfants ;  je  n'ai 
que  des  filles."  Happily  the  Commissioners  them- 
selves were  open  to  conviction;  among  the  Assistant- 
Commissioners  were  Messrs.  Bryce,  Fearon,  and  Fitch, 
whose  consistent  advocacy  of  girls'  education  has  done 
yeoman  service.  Miss  Emily  Davies  and  Miss  Bostock, 
backed  by  such  names  as  Dean  Stanley,  Rev.  F.  D. 
Maurice,  Dean  Alford,  Dr.  James  Martineau,  Lord 
Houghton,  and  Lord  Lingen,  petitioned  that  girls 
should  not  be  passed  over,  and  the  Commissioners 
granted  their  prayer. 

The  inquiry  elicited  that  girls'   schools   lagged  far 

Results  of  Inquiry  ^^^^"^  ^^^^'^  P°^'  ^^  ^^^'^  °^^^"  ^^'^' 
into  Girls'  that  they  were  too  small,  ill-distributed. 

Secondary  expensive  and  wasteful  of  energy  to 

Education,  186S-67.  ^^^^^  ^j^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^  produce  results 

*  England  Without  and  Within.     Boston. 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  75 

co-extensive  even  with  the  efforts  put  forth.  Mr.  (now 
Sir  J.)  Fitch  reported  that  schoolmistresses  were  in  the 
habit  of  speaking  slightingly  of  mental  cultivation  before 
their  pupils,  setting  before  them  as  the  great  aim  of  life  to 
be  attractive  and  to  make  conquests ;  he  alludes  to  the 
convenient  assumption  by  some  women  teachers''^  that 
the  foundation  of  the  moral  character  is  somehow  an 
alternative  to  the  improvement  of  the  understanding; 
they  themselves  preferring  the  former.  Mr.  James 
Bryce  deprecates  in  his  report  the  use  of  lamentable 
catechisms ;  and  states  that  the  great  need  is  to  make 
parents  believe  that  it  is  "not  to  refinement  and 
modesty  that  a  cultivated  intelligence  is  opposed,  but  to 
vapidity  and  languor,  and  vulgarity  of  mind,  to  the  love 
of  gossip  and  love  of  dress."  Mr.  Fearon  dwells 
on  the  shortcomigs  of  schoolmistresses;  their  want 
of  breadth  and  accuracy  of  scholarship;  their  want 
of  knowledge  of  the  art  of  instructing  a  class. 
He  also  alludes  to  the  multiplicity  of  subjects,  and 
the  want  of  systematic  physical  education.  Other 
Commissioners  had  a  similar  story  to  tell,  so  that 
there  was  ample  justification  for  the  general  report 
issued  upon  girls'  schools.  They  were 
The  General  characterized   by  "  want  of  thorough- 

ness and  foundation  ;  want  of  system ; 
slovenliness  and  showy  superficiality;  inattention  to 
rudiments ;  undue  time  given  to  accomplishments,  and 
these    not    taught    intelligently,   or    in    any   scientific 

*  Such  assumptions  were  not  monopolized   by  women,   men 
commonly  made  them  also. 


Id  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

manner;  want  of  organization."  The  report  added 
that  these  defects,  needless  to  observe,  applied  to  a 
great  extent  to  boys'  education. 

At  this  time,  few  schools  were  doing  anything  like 
efficient  work;  what   the   Commissioners  describe  was 

very  general.  A  few  honourable  ex- 
Several  Efficient  ceptions  were  two  girls'  colleges  in 
Scnools< 

London,  Queen's  and  Bedford.    They 

had  been  founded  for  the  higher  education  of  women, 

but  were  themselves   obliged  to   undertake  secondary 

work,  to  lay  the  foundations  on  which  they  desired  to 

build.     Bedford     College     had     for     fifteen    years    a 

secondary    school    attached    to    it;    Queen's    College 

retained  the  position  of  a   secondary  school.     Besides 

these  were  the  North  London  Collegiate  School  under 

Miss  F.  M.  Buss,  and  the  Ladies'  College,  Cheltenham, 

of  which   Miss   Beale  had  been  principal  since   1858. 

Miss    Buss    and    Miss    Emily    Davies    gave    valuable 

evidence  before   the   Schools   Inquiry   Commission  in 

1865;  Miss  Beale  followed  in  1866. 

The  Commission  distinguished  three  grades  of  schools 

in  its  report :   third,  second,  first,  in  which  education 

^     ,  terminated  at  about  fourteen,  sixteen, 

Grades  ,    .  ,  ^  '       .        ' 

distinguished  ^nd  eighteen  years  of  age  respectively, 

by  the  Schools       the  last   taking   its   pupils  up  to  the 

Inquiry  g^|.g  ^f  ^^  universities.  The  great 

Commission.  „  .    .  .  ,       . 

Commission     marks     an  epoch     in 

Secondary  Education.  It  is  true  the  State  has  done 
little  to  evoke  order,  yet  it  has  been  compelled  to  do 
something,   and   other  forces    have   been   at   work   to 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  77 

raise  the  standard.  The  Oxford  Conference  of  1893 
and  the  Royal  Commission  of  1894-95  both  agree 
that  the  recommendation  of  the  Schools  Inquiry  Com- 
missioners to  create  Third  Grade  schools  has  become 
obsolete.  The  Higher  Grade  elementary  schools  are 
taking  the  place  these  might  have  occupied,  and  are 
slowly  wiping  out  a  certain  class  of  inefficient  secondary 
schools.  Two  grades  only  of  Secondary  Education  are 
necessary:  First  Grade  preparing  students  for  the 
universities,  and  ending  at  eighteen  or  nineteen ; 
Second  Grade  schools,  where  education  does  not 
proceed  so  far,  ending  at  about  sixteen. 

In  the  paper  she  read  at  the  Oxford  Conference, 
Mrs.  Bryant  only  distinguished  High  schools  and 
High  Schools  Middle  schools  for  girls.  The  terms 
and  Middle  suffer  from  vagueness,  largely  because 

Schools.  a   goodly    number    of    girls'    schools 

assume  the  more  pretentious  title  without  any  right. 
The  best  test  for  a  High  school  would  be  the  ability 
of  its  upper  students  to  pass  at  once  to  a  College  of 
University  rank,  and  prepare  for  an  Honour  degree. 
A  fair  proportion  of  High  school  students  are  usually 
able  to  take  the  Cambridge  and  Oxford  Senior 
Examinations  at  the  honours  limit  of  age.  A  Middle 
school,  on  the  other  hand,  may  be  expected  not  to 
carry  its  pupils  of  sixteen  or  thereabouts  much  beyond 
the  standard  of  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  Junior 
Examinations;  and  these  they  may  take  when  beyond 
the  honours  Hmit  of  age  (below  sixteen  for  a  junior). 

It  has  been  already  stated  that  we  owe  Free  Trade 


78  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN 

in   education   to  the  Reformation.     It  introduced  the 
era  of  exaggerated  individualism.      As 
p,       .  early  as   1179,   Dr.  Schaible  reminds 

us,  a  Lateran  Council  directed  that 
the  head  teacher  of  every  cathedral  was  to  have 
authority  over  all  other  schoolmasters  in  his  district, 
to  have  the  right  of  license  to  teach,  and  without  that 
license  none  was  to  presume  to  teach.  The  Church 
of  Rome,  therefore,  enunciated  the  principle  with  great 
clearness ;  the  Church  of  England  did  her  best  to 
prevent  all  teaching  save  that  by  her  own  members; 
the  State,  the  legitimate  heir  of  the  Church  in  all 
matters  educational,  has  never  taken  up  the  position 
she  indicated.  This  has  led  to  serious  disorganization, 
to  confusion  worse  confounded  in  Secondary  Education. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  absence  of  regis- 
tration for  the  profession  is  a  humiliation  to  all  properly- 
qualified  teachers.  The  drug-seller  and  the  horse-doctor 
have  for  years  required  diplomas ;  any  charlatan  may 
open  a  secondary  school  by  means  of  a  specious 
prospectus,  and  even  a  bogus  degree,  and  impose  on 
the  credulity  of  the  British  parent.  Possessed  of  no 
standards  by  which  to  test  education,  "  Live  and  let 
live  "  seems  to  him  a  suitable  motto  even  for  so  serious 
a  matter  as  his  child's  education.  At  the  moment  of 
writing  (January,  1897),  the  fault  that  there  exists  no 
teachers'  register  lies  partly  with  the  teachers  them- 
A  Double  selves,  a  section  of  those  engaged  in 

Register  or  a        secondary    teaching    objecting    to    a 
Single.  single  register  for  all  the  teachers  of 


SECOND  A  R  Y  ED  UCA  TION  79 

the  country,  including  those  of  public  elementary 
schools ;  and  partly  with  the  present  Government,  who 
in  1896  introduced  an  Education  Bill.  It  provided 
for  the  registration  of  teachers,  but  contained  con- 
tentious matter  which  led  to  the  withdrawal  of  the  Bill 
in  July,  1896.  The  registration  difficulty,  so  far  as 
the  fault  lies  with  teachers,  is  an  outcome  of  the  low 
status  of  English  elementary  teachers  previous  to  1870. 
In  Scotland  the  teacher  has,  from  time  immemorial, 
been  held  in  honour,  ranking  only  after  the  minister 
of  the  parish ;  and  sometimes  teaching  whilst  awaiting 
an  appointment  in  the  Church  of  Scotland.  It  is 
more  of  a  principle  with  the  Scottish  people  to  sacri- 
fice the  quality  of  food  and  clothing  than  to  sacrifice 
education.     In  England,  other  traditions  and  standards 

„    .  .        ,  ,         have    prevailed.      Allusion    is    made 

Position  of  the 

Teacher  in  elsewhere  to  the  fact  that  the  failures 

England  and  of   trades    and    handicrafts    took    to 

Scotland  teaching   in    the   elementary    schools 

compared. 

as    the    last    resource.      A    marked 

improvement  in  the  status  of  the  elementary  teacher 

has  taken  place  of  recent  years.     A  certain  style  of 

man  and  woman  still  needs  weeding  out  if  teachers  are 

to  be,  as  they  ought  to  be,  a  great  missionary  force 

for  the  next  quarter  of  a  century.     On  the  other  hand, 

it  is  equally  true  that  too  large  a  proportion  of  secondary 

teachers  are  not  properly  qualified.     Although  some  of 

the  best  men  teachers  are  opposed  to  a  single  register, 

all  the  cream  of  the  profession  do  not  favour  a  double 

one.      The  education   and   status  of   the   elementary 


8o  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

teacher  are  better  than  ever  before.  The  London 
School  Board  has  in  its  employ  more  than  a  hundred 
men  holding  degrees,  and  four  women,  besides  seventeen 
holding  the  L.L.A.  of  St.  Andrews. 

Forces  that  have  raised  the  character  of  Girls' 
Secondary  Education. 

First  in  point  of  time,  credit  must  be  given  to  the 

local  examinations,  whose  influence  has  been  very  great. 

Of  late  years  it  has  become  the  fashion 

(fl)  The  Local  -^^  certain  quarters  to  speak  slightingly 
Examinations. 

of   the   effect   of  exammations   upon 

education;  in  the  opinion  of  some  good  authorities 
they  exercise  a  cramping  and  confining  influence  after 
a  certain  stage  is  reached.  Probably  this  opinion  took 
root  at  a  time  when  syndicates  and  boards  of  examiners 
shewed  a  tendency  to  disregard  and  even  resent  the 
advice  of  practical  teachers.  University  dons,  having 
little  connection  with  the  education  of  the  young, 
adopted  rigid  rules  and  methods,  seldom  associating 
with  themselves  active,  vigorous  teachers,  whose  more 
recent  experience  should  have  proved  valuable.  Happily 
this  tendency  is  quite  of  the  past ;  there  is  probably  no 
board  of  examiners  working  to-day  that  would  not  hear 
and  weigh  a  suggestion  of  any  value.  The  College  of 
Preceptors  makes  part  of  its  modem  languages  examina- 
tion oral;  and  though  the  innovation  is  not  without 
attendant  disadvantage,  the  balance  of  advantage  un- 
doubtedly lies  on  the  side  of  greater  care  as  regards 
accent  and  pronunciation. 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  8i 

The  College  of  Preceptors  was  first  in  the  examina- 
tion field  as  far  as  schools  are  concerned;    in   1850 
its  council  sanctioned  a  scheme  which 

College  of  ^^g  completed  and  adopted  in  1854. 

Preceptors,  1854. 

Mr.   C.   R.    Hodgson   states    that   in 

185 1  the  first  girls'  school  was  examined,  consisting  of 
thirty-five  pupils,  of  whom  two  gained  higher  and  five 
lower  certificates.  In  1870  only  15 17  candidates  sat 
for  the  College  Certificates.  From  that  year  onwards 
progress  was  very  marked,  and  in  1895  the  candidates 
numbered  16,549,  besides  350  teachers  seeking  diplomas. 
Of  the  former  number,  7039  were  girls,  and  of  the 
latter,  136  women.  The  College  of  Preceptors  divides 
its  candidates  into  four  classes :  first,  second,  third,  and 
junior  forms.  In  the  first  class  successful  candidates 
are  arranged  as  "honours"  and  "pass";  second  and 
third  class  have  each  three  divisions. 

The  University  of  Oxford  established  its  local  exam- 
ination for  boys  in  1857,  Cambridge  following  in  1858. 
Q  -    ,       ,  In    1862     Miss    Emily    Davies    was 

Cambridge  Local  secretary  to  a  committee  which  had 
Examinations,  been  formed  to  obtain  for  women 
io57>  loSo-  admission  to  the  university  examina- 

tions ;  the  ladies  first  turned  their  attention  to  the  local 
examinations  as  a  convenient  point  of  attack,  and  by  a 
narrow  majority — fifty-five  to  fifty-one — the  Cambridge 
examinations  were  formally  opened  to  girls  in  1865.* 

*  The  Secretary  of  the  Local  Examinations  Syndicate  cautiously 
consented  that  extra  copies  of  the  examination  papers  should  be 
printed  for  the  use  of  girl  candidates  on  December  14th,   1863. 

G 


82  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

The  examinations  now  cover  three  classes :  pre- 
liminary, junior,  senior,  with  an  age  limit  of  fourteen, 
sixteen,  nineteen  for  passing  in  honours.  Candidates 
may  pass,  but  not  in  honours,  at  ages  above  those 
named.  The  Cambridge  Local  Examination  has  an 
Extraordinarily  extraordinarily  minute  classification  of 
Minute  the    candidates,    almost    equal    to    a 

Classification.  hierarchy.  Thus  a  junior  may  pass 
in  Ia.,  Ib.,  II.,  III.  classes  of  honours ;  pass  (ordinary) ; 
pass  in  English  and  obligatory  subjects  only  (below  i6 
years) ;  pass  beyond  this  age  (equivalent  to  a  lower  form 
of  pass,  commonly  known  as  senior-junior);  besides 
gaining  marks  of  distinction  in  specific  subjects.  Pre- 
liminary and  senior  candidates  are  similarly  classified, 
except  that  class  I.  has  no  sub-divisions.  The  intelligence 
of  parents  must  surely  be  taxed  to  grasp  these  minute 
Cambridge  sub-divisions.     In  1868  the  University 

Higher  Local,  instituted  a  special  examination,  known 
^8^'  as  the  Cambridge  Higher  Local,  for 

women  over  eighteen.  The  yearly  number  of  candidates 
averages  about  900. 

When  the  question  of  opening  the  Cambridge  Exami- 
nations to  girls  was  first  mooted,  some  authorities  were 

The  Syndicate  could  not  order  examiners  to  examine  girls'  papers, 
but  the  Ladies'  Committee  were  empowered  to  make  their  own 
terms  with  them.  The  result  was  a  pretty  heavy  list  of  failures, 
but,  neither  dismayed  nor  discouraged,  the  Committee  pressed  on. 
In  1864  the  Senate  of  the  University  of  Cambridge  received  a 
memorial  praying  that  the  examinations  be  opened  to  girls,  signed 
by  999  influential  names.  As  the  results  of  the  1863  examination 
did  not  appear  to  have  unsexed  the  candidates,  the  Senate  discussed 
the  memorial. 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  83 

of  opinion  that  the  standard  should  be  lowered  for  girls. 
Happily  this  was  overborne ;  few  things  could  have  had 
a  worse  effect  upon  women's  education  than  the  adop- 
tion of  a  double  standard,  in  itself  a  brand  of  inferiority. 
The  results  have  fully  justified  the  course  adopted.  To 
mention  one  subject  only,  arithmetic.  In  Mr.  Fearon's 
report  in  the  Commission  on  Secondary  Education, 
in  1865,  he  mentions  that  when  the  Cambridge  Exami- 
nations were  tentatively  opened  in  1863,  of  13  girls 
presented  by  a  good  private  school,  8  failed  in  arith- 
metic; out  of  25  presented  by  Miss  Buss,  10  failed 
in  the  same  subject.  Indeed,  out  of  a  total  of  forty 
senior  candidates,  thirty-four  failed  in  the  preliminary 
arithmetic.  A  double  standard  would  have  un- 
doubtedly meant  the  lowering  of  arithmetic.  Failures 
in  arithmetic,  where  the  subject  is  well  taught,  are 
rather  more  common  among  girls  than  boys,  but  not 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  justify  a  different  standard. 
The  smaller  number  of  girls  studying  mathematics 
sufficiently  explains  this  difference  between  the  sexes, 
and  it  is  only  fair  to  add  that  there  are  subjects,  such 
as  composition  and  history,  where  girls  frequently  do 
better  than  boys,  probably  because  English  is  more 
seriously  and  thoroughly  studied  in  girls'  schools. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  well  to  make  an  excerpt 
from  the  Report  of  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  Joint 
Board  of  Examiners  to  the  Council  of  the  Girls'  Public 
Day  School  Company  in  1887.  An  examiner  writes : 
"I  may  say  that  I  was  very  much  astonished  at  the 
enormous  improvement  in  the  arithmetic  of  the  girls 


84  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN 

which  has  taken  place  in  the  last  ten  years.  Their 
arithmetic  is  now  as  far  in  advance  of  the  boys'  in  style 
and  accuracy  as  it  was  then  behind." 

In  1895  ^^  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
instituted  a  new  examination,  the  Preliminary,  for 
Preliminary  students  below   14,  and  this  has  led 

Examinations,  to  a  considerable  accession  in  the 
^^95-  number     of     candidates,    which,    in 

December  of  that  year,  rose,  in  the  case  of  Cambridge, 
to  13,587  ;  of  this  number  5642  were  girls.  A  glance 
at  the  Cambridge  tables  will  show  that  a  higher  per- 
centage of  girls  pass  than  of  boys ;  on  the  other  hand, 
a  higher  percentage  of  boys  take  honours. 

Oxford   opened  its   examinations   to  girls  in    1870. 
The  regulations  resemble  those  of  Cambridge,  including 
the  division  into  three  honours  classes, 
Oxford  Local         -yyith  a  double  pass  list  distinguishing 
Examinations         u  ..  ^u  1  ^  • 

opened  to  Girls,  ^^^"^.^^^  ^^°'^  ^^'^  P^''  ^^  ^  ^'^^^ 
1870,  age-limit,  and  those  who  are  beyond 

it.  The  numbers  of  Oxford  candi- 
dates have  greatly  increased  of  recent  years.  In  July, 
1896,  there  were  7314;  2141  of  these  were  preliminary, 
3626  juniors,  1547  seniors.  Of  the  total  number  5312 
passed.  Oxford  has  also  three  examinations  for  women. 
Many  schools  use  the  matriculation  examination 
of  London  University  to  test  the  work  of  the  higher 

forms.  The  examinations  of  Durham 
London  ^^.^    ^^^^  -^^  theNorth,  and  now  the 

Matriculation. 

recently     chartered     Universities     of 

Victoria  and  Wales  are  beginning  examination  schemes 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  8$ 

of  their  own.  Oxford  reports  that  1896  marked  a 
great  increase  in  the  number  of  candidates  from 
elementary  schools,  especially  Higher  Grade  Board 
schools.  It  is  probable  that  since  the  Education 
Department  is  now  mainly  assessing  the  Government 
grant  to  elementary  schools  by  means  of  inspection,  and 
discontinuing  examination  for  this  purpose,  able  teachers 
will  more  and  more  have  recourse  to  the  testing  of  their 
work  by  some  external  examination  authority,  and  that 
such  authority  will  affect  the  curricula  of  elementary 
schools  just  as  it  has  affected  secondary  schools. 

In  at  least  one  substantial  particular  the  great  ex- 
amining bodies  for  schools  (the  College  of  Preceptors, 
Syndicate  ^^  Cambridge  Syndicate,  and  Oxford 

Buildings,  Delegacy)  may  congratulate  themselves 

Cambridge.  ^^  ^^  adoption  of  so   reasonable  a 

policy  as  the  admission  of  girls  to  examination.  The 
handsome  buildings  of  the  College  of  Preceptors,  in 
Bloomsbury  Square,  are  largely  due  to  profits  on 
examination;  the  Syndicate  Buildings,  as  the  present 
Bishop  of  Stepney  (Canon  G.  F.  Browne)  observed, 
owe  existence  to  the  candidates'  threepences,  wisely 
husbanded;  and  even  now  a  building  is  being 
erected  for  the  Oxford  Delegacy,  whose  bill  will  be 
similarly  met. 

Of  late  years,  the  Universities  have  provided  able 
examiners,  who  examine  and  report  upon  the  whole  of 
a  school ;  and  this  system  is  preferred  by  many  teachers 
to  local  examinations,  since  the  entire  work  is  thus 
reviewed. 


86  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

The  examinations  of  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
Schools  Examination  Board,  usually  styled  the  Joint 
Joint  Board  Board,  founded  in  1873,  have  grown 

Examinations,  considerably  in  popularity.  The 
^^73«  examinations   and   certificates  are   of 

two  classes — higher  and  lower — adapted  for  different 
ages;  the  papers  can  be  worked  as  part  of  the  ex- 
amination of  a  school;  it  is  possible  for  a  candidate 
so  to  arrange  his  subjects  that  if  one  year  he  passes  in 
English,  together  with  subjects  selected  from  two  other 
groups,  he  may  in  the  following  year  enter  for  examina- 
tion without  again  taking  English.  In  1896,  the  Joint 
Board  examined  96  boys'  schools  and  69  girls'  schools, 
thirty-two  of  these  belonging  to  the  Girls'  Public  Day 
Schools  Co.  Of  the  2 121  candidates  for  the  higher 
certificate  1431  were  boys,  690  girls.  For  the  lower 
certificate  there  were  891  candidates,  750  boys,  141 
girls.  Of  the  2 1 2 1  candidates  for  the  higher  certificate, 
449  had  already  gained  certificates  in  a  previous  ex- 
amination of  the  Joint  Board,  and  of  this  number  178 
gained  a  certificate,  with  distinction,  in  1896.  Of  the 
girls,  441  were  candidates  for  partial  certificates  (letters) 
only ;  letters  were  given  to  290  girls. 

It  may  be  objected  that  there  is  too  much  "pre- 
paration" for  examinations  in  certain  schools;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  must  be  admitted  that  examinations 
have  put  an  end  to  superficiality  in  girls'  schools. 
Further,  they  have  stimulated  the  girls,  and  admitted  of 
a  useful  comparison  between  their  work  and  that  of 
boys. 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  87 

Forces  tending  to  raise  the  character  of  Secondary 
Education, 

Second  in  order  of  time,  though  first  in  point  of 
value,  must  be  placed  the  work  of  the  Endowed  Schools 

Commission.  The  Commissioners  have 
{b)  The  Charity  y^^^^  ^j^^  consistent  friends  of  girls' 
Commission.  ...  •       •  , 

education,  mamtammg   their  right  to 

consideration  even  when  refractory  corporations  would 
have  passed  them  over.  English  legislation  is  almost 
invariably  a  result  of  public  opinion  \  it  scarcely  ever 
leads.  For  this  reason  the  Commission  have  not  aimed 
at  anything  like  equality  of  consideration  for  the  sexes, 
since  public  opinion  lags  behind  the  natural  division 
of  educational  benefits. 

The  Endowed  Schools  Acts  are  the  one  practical  result 
of  the  Schools  Inquiry  Commission  which  sat  from 
1 865-1 867.  The  recent  Royal  Commission  upon 
Secondary  Education  styles  the  report  of  that  Com- 
mission epoch-making,  luminous,  and  exhaustive. 
Though  its  important  recommendations  as  regards  a 
Central  Authority,  a  Local  or  Provincial  Authority,  a 
Central  Council  of  Education — recommendations,  be  it 
observed,  which,  after  the  lapse  of  30  years,  the  Com- 
mission of  1894  could  do  little  more  than  endorse — 
were  not  carried  out,  women  have  special  cause  for 
gratitude  that  the  outcome  was  beneficial  to  their 
interests.  Parliament  passed  the  first  Endowed  Schools 
Act,  introduced  by  Mr.  W.  E.  Forster,  in   1869,  and 


8S  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

as  a  result  the  Endowed  Schools  Commission  was 
created.  At  first  the  Commission  was  nominated  for 
a  limited  period;  since  1874  it  has  been  a  department 
of  the  Charity  Commission. 

During  these  years,  out  of  nearly  2000  educational 
endowments  known  to  be  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Girls  admitted  to  Endowed  Schools  Acts,  the  Com- 
the  benefits  of  missioners  have  framed  schemes  for 
Endowments.  ^^g  endowments,  besides  constantly 
amending  those  which  grew  obsolete  or  proved  unwork- 
able. About  80  of  these  schemes  refer  to  girls.  Large 
numbers  of  schools  reformed  of  themselves,  and  the 
presence  of  a  good  endowed  school  in  a  neighbour- 
hood caused  the  private  schools  to  adopt  the  pace  set 
by  the  Commission.  Public  interest  in  education, 
languid  as  it  too  often  is,  was  aroused  by  the  intro- 
duction to  governing  bodies  of  a  large  and  increasing 
representative  element,  which  has  been  helpful  in  form- 
ing local  opinion.  Besides  which,  the  Commissioners 
established  an  organic  relation  between  schools  and 
local  government  authorities.  Their  policy  will  doubt- 
less pave  the  way  for  a  local  educational  authority, 
which  is  greatly  needed,  but  for  which  some  parts  of 
the  country  are  not  ready. 

The  numbers  attending  endowed  schools  have  greatly 
increased,  as  a  result  of  wise  administration.  In  1865 
Harpur's  Foundation  at  Bedford  maintained  799  boys ; 
in  1893  there  were  1445  boys  and  666  girls.  The 
quality  of  the  education,  needless  to  say,  is  very 
dififerent. 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  89 

There  were  four  ways  open  to  the  Commissioners  to 
benefit  girls: — 

{a)  The  establishment  of  girls*  schools. 
{b)  Exhibitions  for  girls. 

(c)  Power    to    benefit    girls    when    the    endowment 

suffices  for  the  purpose. 

(d)  The  admission  of  girls  to  boys'  schools. 

All  these  ways  were  adopted,  but  d  is  the  most 
rare.  The  term  "  endowed  school "  is  somewhat  loose  ; 
any  school  is  endowed  that  has  had  so  little  as  its 
site  given.  It  is  chiefly  used  for  schools  where  certain 
moneys  have  been  set  apart  for  maintenance.  The 
Charity  Commission  have  no  funds  at  their  disposal 
for  the  endowment  of  education;  their  function  is  to 
regulate  and  supervise  public  trusts.  The  Commissioners 
City  Companies  ^^^e  on  several  occasions  recom- 
and  the  claims  mended  wealthy  city  companies  to 
of  Girls.  spend    accumulated    funds     on     the 

education  of  girls.  The  Skinners,  Brewers,  Clothworkers, 
Haberdashers,  Merchant  Taylors,  Drapers,  Leather- 
sellers,  and  Goldsmiths  have  devoted  large  sums  to 
this  object.  The  main  idea  actuating  Commissioners 
has  been  to  obtain  for  girls  a  sound,  broad,  general 
education,  differentiating  little  from  that  given  to  boys, 
save  in  one  or  two  technical  subjects  like  sewing. 
Amongst  the  best  known  schools  for  which  they  have 
provided  schemes  are  the  North  London  Collegiate, 
Manchester  High  School  for  Girls,  Birmingham  Grammar 
Schools,  Stamford  (Lines.),  and  the  Bradford  Grammar 


90  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

School.  The  proportion  in  which  the  funds  of  an 
endowment  are  divided  between  girls  and  boys  is 
determined  mainly  by  the  locality  and  by  public 
opinion.  The  commonest  division  is  a  third  to  girls, 
two-thirds  to  boys. 

Those  who  have  looked  into  the  history  of  endow- 
ments  soon   perceive   two  main   tendencies :   the  rich 
acquire  what  was  meant  for  the  poor ; 

Endowments  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^  children.     One 

explanation  suffices :  the  poor  and 
women  were  not  represented  on  Boards  of  Governors. 
The  Charity  Commissioners,  on  the  grounds  that  all 
resources  must  be  used,  and  that  it  would  be  hard  to 
maintain  that  many  women  are  not  admirably  qualified, 
have,  in  their  schemes  for  girls,  required  that  a  certain 
number  of  women  shall  act  as  Governors. 

In  a  country  like   England,    much  that  affects  the 
public    weal    is    subject    to    constant    criticism.     The 

statement  has  been  made  that  the 
Endowments  are  r     •        r       j  u  j-         ^ 

;«,.^^oo;««.  race  of  pious  founders  would  die  out 

increasmg.  ^ 

when  it  was  seen  that  benefactions 
were  overhauled  and  rearranged  at  the  mercy  of  Com- 
missioners. In  their  42nd  report  a  crushing  retort  to 
this  criticism  will  be  found.  Charitable  trusts  are 
increasing  to  the  extent  of  500  yearly.  From  1875 
to  1894,  reckoning  only  gifts  of  ;^iooo  and  upwards, 
;£"8,ooo,ooo  was  bequeathed  to  seven  principal  objects, 
education  and  medical  relief  obtaining  the  largest 
amounts.  Paragraph  10  concludes  thus  : — "  Indeed, 
there  is  reason  to  think  that  the  latter  half  of  the  19th 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  91 

century  will  stand  second,  in  respect  of  the  greatness 
and  variety  of  the  charities  created  within  its  duration, 
to  no  other  half-century  since  the  Reformation.  And, 
as  to  one  particular  branch  of  educational  endowments, 
namely,  that  for  the  advancement  of  the  secondary 
and  superior  education  of  girls  and  women,  it  may  be 
anticipated  that  future  generations  will  look  back  to 
the  period  immediately  following  upon  the  Schools 
Inquiry  Commission,  and  the  consequent  passing  of  the 
Endowed  Schools  Acts,  as  marking  an  epoch  in  the 
creation  and  application  of  endowments  for  that  branch 
of  education,  similar  to  that  which  is  marked  for  the 
education  of  boys  and  men  by  the  Reformation." 

Forces  tending  to  raise  the  character  of  Secondary 
Education. 
The  passing  of  the  great  Education  Acts,  marking 
a  new  era  in  the  annals  of  this  country,  indirectly 
{c)  Elementary  affected  private  schools  by  wiping  out 
Education  Act,  many  of  the  inferior  sort,  used  by 
^^70*  the  lower  middle   classes,     A   better 

education  could  be  obtained  in  a  good  Board  school, 
under  certificated  teachers,  than  from  some  private 
schoolmistresses,  whose  sole  qualification  was  often  the 
"selectness"  of  their  establishments,  which  seemed, 
according  to  the  door-plate,  to  be  universally  attended 
by  "young  ladies."  It  has  already  been  shown  how, 
during  recent  years,  necessity  has  compelled  public 
elementary  schools  to  enlarge  their  curricula  for  sixth, 
seventh,  and  extra-standard  classes,  and  sometimes  to 


92  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

build  separate  schools,  under  the  name  of  Higher 
Grade  schools.  Another  kind  of  school  has  also 
arisen,  partly  as  a  result  of  improved  Elementary 
Education  and  the  stimulus  that  has  recently  been 
given  to  Technical  Education.  These  are  the  Or- 
ganized Science  schools,  working  mainly  under  the 
Science  and  Art  Department  to  secure  its  grants. 
Their  numbers  increased  from  132  in  1895,  ^o  ^S^ 
in  1896,  and  they  educate  almost  19,000  students,  of 
whom  4000  are  girls. 

In  the  sixties  and  seventies  may  be  observed  a  large 
number  of  educational  associations  rising  over  the 
{d)  Girls'  Public  country,  of  which  a  goodly  proportion 
Day  School  concerned    themselves    with  women's 

Company.  education.     The    North    of  England 

Council  for  promoting  the  Higher  Education  of  Women 
is  fairly  well  known,  since  by  its  invitation  in  1867  to 
Prof.  James  Stuart,  to  give  a  course  of  lectures  to  ladies 
at  Leeds,  Liverpool,  Manchester,  and  Sheffield,  it 
assisted  to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  University  Exten- 
sion movement.  The  Yorkshire  Ladies'  Council  of 
Education  dates  from  1865,  when  ladies  began  to 
superintend  the  Cambridge  Local  Examinations  in  the 
West  Riding,  newly  opened  to  girls.  Its  branches 
undertook  educational  work  in  various  towns.  In  1871 
was  formed  a  National  Union  for  Improving  the  Educa- 
tion of  Women,  amongst  whose  founders  were  Mrs.  Wm. 
Grey,  and  her  sister  Miss  Shirreff,  with  Princess  Louise 
as  president.  The  Union  meant  business;  an  arch- 
Conservative  was   so  impressed   by  the  fact  that    he 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  93 

alluded  to  it  as  a  "  widely-ramifying  conspiracy."  The 
first  thing  it  did  was  to  publish  a  monthly  paper :  The 
Wo7nerCs  Educational  Journal  In  January,  1873,  the 
Girls'  Public  Day  School  Company,  incorporated  in  June, 
1872,  another  outcome  of  this  union  for  improving 
women's  education,  opened  its  first  school  at  Chelsea. 
The  National  Union  also  undertook  to  provide  means 
for  the  training  of  teachers ;  and  for  this  purpose  the 
Maria  Grey  Training  College  for  Secondary  Teachers 
was  founded  in  1878,  although  by  that  time  this  special 
work  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Teachers' 
Training  and  Registration  Society. 

The  Girls'  Public  Day  School  Company  has,  from  the 
first,  been  a  paying  concern :  its  shareholders  have 
religiously  touched  a  yearly  dividend  of  five  per  cent. 
Profits  over  and  above  this  amount  are  devoted 
to  the  improvement  of  the  schools.  As  far  as 
numbers  are  concerned,  success  can  hardly  be  regarded 
as  phenomenal,  for  in  1896  the  schools  only  numbered 
36,  with  about  7200  pupils.  Yet  their  effect  has  been 
far-reaching,  so  that  we  may  not  refuse  to  call  the  result 
The  Schools  have  admirable.  The  schools  have  shewn 
created  a  how  high  a  standard  we  may  reason- 

Standard,  ^^ly   g^pg^.^   Qf  gij.lg    Qf  ^j^g    mxM\Q 

class ;  how  useful  is  discipline ;  how  girls  can  disregard 
the  class  distinctions  which  were  once  thought  to  be  so 
peculiarly  beneficial  to  the  feminine  mind  and  morals. 
In  the  mistresses  of  these  High  Schools,  both  head  and 
assistant,  we  have  seen  a  new  type  of  woman  evolved, 
highly  educated,  exerting  great  moral  force,  ruling  with 


94  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

justice  and  kindness.  Women  are  sometimes  told  that 
they  cannot  co-operate  :  a  well-managed  High  School 
shews  whether  the  statement  is  borne  out  by  facts.  The 
Church  Schools  Company  followed  in  1883,  with 
definite  Church  teaching  as  a  main  article  of  its  con- 
stitution. Its  schools  number  24 ;  pupils  about  2000. 
The  effect  of  the  Girls'  Public  Day  Schools  upon  private 
schools  can  hardly  be  exaggerated ;  on  all  hands  it  is 
admitted  to  be  very  great.  The  fees  are  usually,  with 
extras,  from  J^^  9s.  to  £^\^  15s.  per  annum,  according 
to  age,  the  lack  of  endowment  prohibiting  low  fees.  It 
is  therefore  evident  that  the  schools  are  for  persons  in 
comfortable  circumstances.  They  cannot  be  used  by 
those  who  have  large  British  families  numbering  half  a 
score,  if  of  the  lower  middle  class.  For  them,  in  the 
main,  no  adequate  provision  exists,  or  ever  has  existed. 
The  low  standard  of  culture,  or  to  speak  plainly,  the 
absence  of  culture  which  marks  the  English  lower 
middle  classes,  is  thus  sufficiently  explained.  As  a  rule, 
little  is  expected  of  girls  of  this  class  of  life,  and  less 
than  little  is  obtained. 

Forces  tending  to  raise  the  character  of 
Secondary  Education, 
A  fifth  great  force  which  has  tended  to  improve  the 
character  of  Secondary  Education  is  the  education  and 
{e)  Improved  Edu-  training  of  the  teachers  themselves, 
cation  of  Women  by  no  means  the  least  of  the  forces 
Teachers.  enumerated.      The  great  lack  of  the 

Government,   when    it   first    made    money   grants   for 


SECOXDARY  EDUCATION  95 

Elementary  Education,  was  that  of  suitable  teachers; 
it  knew  not  where  to  turn  to  find  them.  The  same 
lack  existed  in  Secondary  Education.  To-day  the 
women's  colleges  are  turning  out  hundreds  of  well- 
educated  women;  the  training  colleges  send  forth 
scores  of  both  educated  and  trained  teachers.  Un- 
happily their  very  numbers  prevent  them  getting  their 
due  reward;  there  is  too  much  reason  to  state  that 
improved  and  even  excellent  education  has  not  favour- 
ably affected  the  woman  teacher  in  the  labour  market. 
A  graduate  of  London  University  would  seem  to  have 
almost  as  much  difficulty  in  securing  the  very  modest 
reward  of  ;£^ioo  per  annum  as  her  slenderly  educated 
sister  of  a  previous  generation. 

The  Royal  Commission  of  1894-95  marks  the  second 
great  epoch  in  Secondary  Education,  just  as  the  Schools 

o«„«ir-««,«,.v,.:^«  Inquiry  Commission  marked  the  first. 
Koyal  Commission      ^     •' 

on  Secondary  It  is  too  early  to  speak  of  its  effects ; 
Education  of  its    important   recommendations    still 

^*  require  legislation.    We  may  note  that 

of  its  seventeen  members,  three  were  women :  Dr.  Sophie 
Bryant,  Lady  F.  Cavendish,  and  Mrs.  Henry  Sidgwick. 
Moreover,  of  the  fourteen  Assistant  Commissioners,  five 
were  women.  For  this  reason,  amongst  others,  the 
interests  of  their  sex  were  carefully  considered;  so 
much  so  that  no  complaint  on  the  subject  has  yet 
been  heard.  The  Commission  commented  upon  the 
great  improvement  in  girls'  education  by  means  of 
endowed  and  proprietary  schools ;  regretted  that,  owing 
to  the  backward  state  of  public  opinion,   the  Charity 


96  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

Commission  had  not  been  able  to  make  a  more  equal 
division  of  the  funds  at  its  disposal ;  alluded  to  the  fact 
that  girls  get  an  unequal  share  of  technical  instruction 
— in  some  cases  being  even  excluded — and  also  to  the 
constant,  one  might  say  the  growing  need  of  scholar- 
ships and  exhibitions  to  pass  girls  on  to  the  universities. 
The  report,  with  its  repeated  cry  for  organization,  is  too 
recent  to  allow  of  lengthy  extracts  from  its  valuable 
recommendations.  Never  before  have  purely  educa- 
tional matters  aroused  so  much  public  interest ;  the 
Act  of  1870  inflamed  the  passions  of  religious  bigotry, 
which  has  happily  never  been  an  element  in  Secondary 
Education.  The  press,  after  the  publication  of  the 
Report  in  October,  1895,  commented  largely,  and  on 
the  whole  intelligently,  on  the  problems  which  had  been 
dealt  with.  A  large  number  of  conferences  quickly 
followed.  It  was  not  uncommon  for  ladies  in  the 
audience  to  bring  their  blue-book  with  them  and 
anxiously  scan  its  pages  for  the  special  point  which 
the  speaker  was  discussing. 

Since  the  passing  of  the  Education  Act  of  1870, 
the  Welsh  have  made  extraordinary  progress  in  edu- 
Welsh  Inter-  cation,    both    elementary,    secondary, 

mediate  Education  and  higher.  In  the  organization  of 
Act,  1889.  Secondary  Education,  they  have  really 

led  the  way,  owing,  doubtless,  to  the  fact  that  in  Wales 
the  ground  was  less  covered  than  in  England.  The 
Principality,  with  which  is  grouped  Monmouth,  is 
distinguished  by  a  great  love  of  knowledge.  There 
are   miners  acquainted   with  the   higher   mathematics, 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  97 

servants  and  labourers  who  compose  essays  and  poems 
for  the  Eisteddfod.  Aberystwyth  College,  opened  in 
1862,  was  largely  subscribed  for  in  small  sums  by 
persons  of  humble  means.  The  Welsh  people  tried  to 
interest  the  Government  in  their  educational  difficulties, 
especially  the  almost  entire  lack  of  good  Secondary 
Education,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  appointment 
of  a  Departmental  Committee  of  Inquiry  in  1880,  con- 
sisting of  half  a  dozen  men  well  qualified  for  the  task. 
The  Committee  began  to  sit  in  1881,  and  held  meet- 
ings in  London  and  Wales.  They  rapidly  produced  a 
valuable  report,  shewing  the  existing  state  of  Secondary 
Education,  drawing  special  attention  to  the  absence  of 
educational  opportunities  for  girls,  and  making  recom- 
mendations. As  a  result.  Parliament  passed  the  Welsh 
Intermediate  Education  Act  in  1889,  since  which  time 
70  secondary  schools  have  been  opened  in  Wales  and 
Monmouth.  Men  of  acknowledged  ability  assisted  to 
Ea  h  W  1  h  carry  out  the  scheme ;  the  scheme  for 

County  or  each  county  is  the  joint  work  of  an 

County- Borough  Education  Committee  and  of  the 
has  a  Scheme.  charity  Commissioners,  who  through- 
out lent  valuable  assistance.  The  county,  or  a  borough 
of  50,000,  was  taken  as  the  unit,  each  county  having  its 
own  committee,  composed  of  three  members  appointed 
by  the  County  Council  and  two  by  the  Lord  President 
of  the  Council.  Each  committee  was  entitled  to  draw 
up  its  own  scheme;  but  as  a  series  of  conferences 
were  arranged  between  all  the  different  committees, 
differences  are  fewer  than  might   have  been  expected, 

H 


98  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

and  may  be  said  simply  to  mark  varying  local  needs. 
The  committees  had  the  services  of  an  officer  of  the 
Charity  Commissioners,  whose  wide  experience  in 
educational  matters  was  valuable,  and  tended  to 
minimise  unnecessary  variety. 

If  we  turn  to  the  consideration  of  how  these  schools 
are  financed,  we  find  that  finance  is  the  cause  of  their 

greatest  difficulty  and  anxiety,  tending 
d"ffi  ultv  ^^    hamper    their    development    and 

efficiency.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  in  1890  a  considerable  sum  of  money  had  been 
raised  for  the  compensation  of  publicans  on  the  ex- 
tinction of  their  licences.  Popular  opinion  was  strongly 
opposed  to  such  a  use  of  the  public  funds,  and  happily 
the  sum  has  been  devoted  to  educational  purposes.  The 
Welsh  secured  the  right  of  applying  their  share  of  this 
money  to  the  purposes  of  the  Intermediate  Education 
Act,  the  sum  amounting  to  about  ;£^3o,ooo  annually. 
In  addition,  Wales  rated  herself  to  the  extent  of  Jd.  in 
the  pound  for  the  same  object,  producing  in  this  way 
^^15,500.  The  Imperial  Treasury  makes  a  yearly  grant 
of  like  amount,  conditional  on  efficiency  maintained; 
and  this,  with  about  ;£" 20,000  representing  the  annual 
value  of  Welsh  scholastic  endowments  dealt  with  by 
schemes  under  the  Acts,  gives  a  total  of  about  ;£'8o,ooo 
per  annum.  The  sum  is  too  small  when  we  consider 
the  number  of  schools  that  must  share  in  it.  It  does 
not  admit  of  the  teachers  being  sufficiently  well  paid, 
and  in  some  cases  prevents  a  sufficient  number  of 
teachers  being  employed.     To  increase   the    number 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  99 

of  their  scholars  many  schools  have  reduced  their  fees. 
The  result  has  been  large  additions  to  numbers, 
without  a  corresponding  addition  to  the  financial 
prosperity  of  the  school.  The  scholars  in  many 
Practical  proof  schools  only  pay  for  one  half  the 
of  interest  in  education  they  receive,  the  Governors 

Education.  providing  the  other  half.     The  Welsh 

people  have  shewn  generosity  towards  these  schools. 
Probably  ;£  100,000,  including  the  value  of  the  sites 
presented,  has  been  subscribed  towards  the  buildings. 
A  small  and  poor  district,  on  the  borders  of  Caermarthen 
and  Cardigan,  with  a  population  of  15,000,  collected 
;£'2ooo  for  its  intermediate  school.  Many  others  have 
subscribed  between  ;£"iooo  and  ;^2ooo,  so  great  is  their 
energy  and  enthusiasm,  their  belief  in  education.  "  The 
English,"  said  an  educationist,  observing  these  things, 
"would  think  you  lunatic  to  ask  for  what  the  Welsh 
have  done." 

The  Welsh  schemes  find  places  for  about  5000  boys 
and  3000  girls,  or  for  6  per  1000  of  the  population. 
The  smaller  number  of  the  girls  must  be  taken  to  mean 
a  smaller  demand  on  the  part  of  parents  for  the  educa- 
tion of  their  daughters.  Had  the  demand  been  equal 
for  both  sexes,  probably  the  supply  of  places  would  have 
been  so  also.  It  is  satisfactory  to  note  that  the  demand 
on  the  part  of  the  girls  is  increasing.  The  Cardiff  Girls' 
School  now  numbers  184  pupils;  Swansea,  226.* 

*  The  Swansea  School  has  now  begun  technical  evening  classes 
for  outsiders  in  such  subjects  as  cookery,  dressmaking,  laundry, 
nursing,  gymnastics. 


100         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN 

The  effect  of  the  organization  of  Welsh  Intermediate 

Education  has  been  the  disappearance  of  many  small 

and    inefficient    private    schools.     In 

r.        .    ..  some  cases  the  Committee  took  over 

Organization. 

schools  they  found  in  existence,  and 
sometimes  teachers,  and  used  them  in  their  scheme. 

In  the  governing  bodies  of  the  schools  the  scheme 
has  arranged  that  a  minimum  number  of  governors 
shall  be  women ;  in  several  cases  the  minimum  has  been 
exceeded.  A  difficulty  has  been  met  occasionally  in 
dual  schools,  that  of  the  mistress  in  charge  of  the  girls* 
department  having  to  work  under  the  head-master. 
Probably  the  dual  system  will  only  be  temporary:  as 
time  goes  on,  the  schools  will  either  become  separate 
or  mixed.  The  dual  system  was  adopted  because  of 
poverty,  small  schools  being  always  proportionately 
expensive. 

The  Welsh  experiment  is  highly  interesting  to  educa- 
tionists. There  can  be  no  doubt  that  when  England 
proceeds  to  the  development  of  a  scheme  of  Secondary 
Education,  the  experience  of  Wales  will  be  valuable  and 
suggestive 

It  was  in  1832  that  a  modest  grant  of  ;£"2o,ooo 
was  first  voted  in  Parliament  to  be  applied  to  educa- 
Science  and  Art  tional  purposes.  Three  years  later  we 
Department,  find  a  Select  Committee  of  the  House 

^^37'  of  Commons,  on  the  motion  of  Mr. 

William  Ewart,  M.P.  for  Liverpool,  appointed  "to 
inquire  into  the  best  means  of  extending  a  knowledge 
of  the   arts   and   of  the   principles  of  design   among 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  lOl 

the  people  (especially  the  manufacturing  population)  of 
the  country."  In  1836  the  sum  of  ;^i5oo  was  set 
aside  for  a  Normal  School  of  Design  with  a  museum 
and  lectures;  and,  in  1837,  the  School  of  Design  was 
constituted.  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  magnificent 
collection  of  art  treasures  at  South  Kensington,  and 
of  that  department  whose  reMoKs  to  the-  Education 
Department  remain  to  the  mere  lay  mind  a  bewildering 
and  intricate  tangle.  Itw'ts",supj>osedt?1at  the  Edu- 
cation Bill,  introduced  by  Sir  John  Gorst  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  was  intended  to  unravel  some  of  the 
complex  mysteries  that  have  arisen  in  course  of  time, 
but  the  withdrawal  of  the  Bill  in  July,  1896,  has 
deferred  a  rearrangement  which  the  course  of  time, 
growth,  and  fresh  developments  in  both  departments 
have  rendered  an  absolute  necessity.  In  1852  a  Depart- 
ment of  Practical  Art  was  created  to  supersede  the 
Schools  of  Design,  which  were  not  satisfactory;  in  1853 
the  Science  division  was  added;  in  1856  the  Education 
Department  was  constituted,  and  both  it  and  the  Science 
Education  ^^^  ^^^  Department,  were  placed  under 

Department  the  control  of  the  Lord  President  of 

constituted,  1856.  ^j^e  Council  and  the  Vice-President 
of  the  Committee  of  Council  on  Education.  The 
extension  and  reconstitution  of  the  Science  and  Art 
Department  were  largely  owing  to  the  chagrin  of  the 
English  on  perceiving  that  their  exhibits  in  the  Great 
International  Exhibition  of  1851  were  inferior  in  taste 
and  originality  to  those  of  Continental  nations, 
especially  the  French.     Like  the    Education   Depart- 


I02         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN 

ment,  South  Kensington,  as  it  is  popularly  called,  has 
seen  many  changes.  These  include  its  location — for  it 
began  at  Somerset  House — its  constitution,  aims,  and 
methods;  it  has  grown  to  its  present  dimensions  in 
true  English  fashion,  and,  on  the  whole,  may  lay 
claim  to  a  fair  amount  of  adaptability. 
Its  'A?ork  may  be  hummed  up  as  follows  : — 

1.  Its  ijiain  and  original  work,  the  holding  of  science 
aad  'Art  evening  classes  all  over  the  country,  the 
Functions  of  the  initiative  depending  chiefly  upon  local 
Science  and  Art  effort.  Art  classes  naturally  came  to 
Department.  ^e  held  by  day  as  well  as  in  the 
evening. 

2.  The  Royal  College  of  Art  in  London,  the  centre 
for  all  art  schools  over  the  country,  and  in  which,  to 
a  large  extent,  art  teachers  are  trained. 

3.  The  Royal  College  of  Science,  holding  a  similar 
position  to  science  classes  of  the  Department  held  in 
the  country. 

4.  The  School  of  Mines  in  Jermyn  Street. 

5.  Organized  Science  schools,  a  sort  of  Higher 
Grade  school  in  their  relation  to  Elementary  Education. 
These  are  growing  very  rapidly.  They  numbered  132 
in  1895  \  152  in  1896.  At  present  the  students  number 
almost  19,000,  of  whom  about  4000  are  girls.  School 
Boards  and  other  bodies  earning  the  grants  of  the 
Department  usually  conduct  an  experiment  in  co- 
education in  these  Science  schools. 

The  Estimates  for  1896-97  granted  ;£"72  7,ooo  for 
the  expenditure  at  South  Kensington.     Until  recently 


SECOND AR  V  EDUCA  TION  103 

it  took  little  share  in  organizing  and  directing  educa- 
tional work,  but  paid  out  a  money  grant  by  means  of 
examinations  held  yearly  in  April  and  May.  The 
Department  first  adopted  the  system  known  as  "pay- 
ment  by  results,"  which  most  authorities  consider  to 

have    a   depressing    effect    upon   the 
Payment  by  ,       ,  .  , 

J,      .,  teachmg  power,  and  a  crampmg  one 

upon  the  scholar.     It  may  reasonably 

be  doubted  whether  any  better  system  has  ever  been 

invented,  for  most   other   systems   seem   only  able  to 

work   well   on   the   assumption    that   all   teachers    are 

able,    conscientious,    and    energetic.     Unhappily,    this 

is   assuming   too  much.     Already  teachers  can  tell  of 

subordinates  relaxing  vigour  since  payment  by  results 

has    been    superseded,    and    some    head-masters    and 

mistresses  begin  to  perceive  that  grant  now  falleth  on 

the  just  and  the  unjust  alike. 

The  elasticity  of  the  Department  is  commendable. 

There   is   much   freedom    in    subjects ;    work    in    the 

remotest  village  may  be   recognized  and  paid  by  the 

Department.     Save  on  the  art  side,  classes  have   not 

been  largely  used  by  girls,  with  the  exception  of  subjects 

like   botany  and   physiology.     Local   initiative,  or  the 

lack  of  it,  must  be  blamed  for  this,  for  the  Department 

itself  is  generally  guiltless  of  the  stupidity  of  making 

unnecessary    sex   distinctions.     Classes    in    connection 

with   South   Kensington,   to   the   number  of   7000   or 

8000,  are  held  all  over  the  country,  from  Thurso  to 

Penzance.     The  teaching  depends  on  what  is  available ; 

what  the  man  on  the  spot  can  give  to  his  neighbour- 


i04         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMRN 

hood.  With  few  exceptions,  chiefly  the  post  of  assistant- 
teacher  in  Schools  of  Art,  or  mistress  in  an  organized 
Science  school,  the  work  of  teaching  under  South 
Kensington  does  not  seem  to  commend  itself  to 
women,  either  because  they  are  unenterprising,  un- 
suited  for  it,  or  fail  to  commend  themselves  to  local 
committees.  Perhaps  if  more  women  sat  on  such 
committees,  the  case  would  be  different. 

For  1896  the  Department  has  set  on  foot  consider- 
able changes.  Payment  by  results  is  to  recede  still 
Recent  Changes,  ^^^ther;  and  now  a  somewhat  com- 
plicated system,  partly  depending  on 
fixed  payment  by  attendance,  so  much  for  each 
attendance,  and  partly  depending  on  efficiency,  to  be 
tested  by  inspection  and  the  result  of  examinations,  has 
been  instituted.  The  Department  has  aimed  by  this 
means  at  the  saving  of  rural  and  semi-rural  schools. 
The  work  done  in  great  centres  of  population  like  Leeds 
and  Birmingham  is  sometimes  of  university  standard; 
in  country  places  it  is  usually  elementary.  For  the 
latter  to  compete  with  the  former,  simply  spelt 
destruction  of  rural  effort.  For  this  reason  the  new 
system  has  been  adopted;  and  whether  success  ensues 
or  failure,  praise  is  due  to  the  Department  for  its 
attempt  to  nurse  rural  districts.  In  many  country 
places  where  the  squire  and  parson  are  supreme,  educa- 
tion is  at  a  very  low  ebb.  In  a  quiet  way,  they  back 
up  local  apathy;  and  the  absence  of  a  middle  class 
contributes  to  maintain  things  as  they  are. 

Another  change   worth   chronicling    is   the   hour   at 


^SECONDARY  EDUCATION  lOS 

which  the  spring  examinations  are  held.  Usually  these 
have  been  held  between  7  and  10  p.m. ;  but  in  1897 
alternative  examinations  will  be  held  in  the  afternoon. 
In  Organized  Science  schools,  the  amount  of  time 
devoted  to  science  has  been  reduced  from  fifteen  to 
thirteen  hours  per  week;  a  certain  proficiency  in 
literature  has  been  required  of  students  in  advanced  or 
higher  courses  j  the  number  of  inspectors  has  been 
increased,  and  in  a  small  proportion  of  cases  the  money 
grant  has  been  given  on  the  result  of  inspection  of  the 
whole  school,  rather  than  on  individual  achievement. 
The  changes  in  the  schools  were  not  made  compulsory 
for  the  first  year,  but  afterwards  the  fixed  grant  will 
depend  partly  upon  attendance,  as  in  the  evening  classes 
of  the  Department.  These  changes  really  mark  a 
revolution  in  the  methods  of  South  Kensington.  Up 
to  the  present  time,  the  aim  may  be  said  to  have  been 
the  strengthening  of  the  strong ;  henceforth  the  weak 
will  receive  more  attention. 

Besides  its  system  of  examinations,  by  which  the 
value  of  the  work  is  appraised,  numbers  of  drawings. 
National  paintings,  models,  studies,  designs,  are 

Competition  at  sent  up  yearly  to  South  Kensington 
South  Kensington,  from  Schools  of  Art  and  Art  Classes 
all  over  the  country.  More  than  88,000  of  these  were 
sent  up  in  1896;  of  this  number,  4398  were  selected 
for  national  competition.  These  selected  works  of  art 
form  an  interesting  exhibition  in  a  suite  of  South 
Kensington  rooms,  where  they  are  every  year  on  view 
to  the  public  during  the  month  of  August.     In  the 


io6         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN 

opinion  of  the  officials,  girls  and  women  hold  their 
own. 

Out  of  eleven  students  to  whom  a  gold  medal 
was  awarded  in  1896,  three  were  girls.  In  the  section 
devoted  to  the  National  Training  at  South  Kensington, 
the  only  gold  medallist  (honorary)  was  a  woman.  Mr. 
Walter  Crane  observed  of  this  competition,  far  too  little 
visited  by  the  British  parent :  "  The  Department  may 
fairly  ask  whether  any  other  country  could  make  so 
creditable  and  interesting  a  show  in  so  many  branches 
of  design." 

In  Great  Britain  there  are  now  altogether  225  Schools 
of  Art,  with  67  branches,  and  1448  art  classes,  with  the 
Local  Schools  handsome  total  of  136,000  students. 
of  Art.  It  has  been  already  shewn  how  draw- 

ing is  compulsory  for  boys  in  public  elementary  schools ; 
in  1894  South  Kensington  had  2,100,000  pupils  in 
the  State  schools,  for  whose  instruction  it  made  grants. 
The  Department  very  properly  lays  great  stress  upon 
local  effort;  probably  foreigners  visiting  our  country 
and  commenting  upon  our  institutions,  are  apt  to  over- 
estimate local  zeal.  The  Department  presupposes  and 
requires  it,  in  order  to  work  well ;  where  it  has  failed 
most,  such  zeal  has  not  existed.  Three  large  towns  in 
Norfolk  and  Suffolk  together  earned  in  1892-93, 
;^269o;  the  rest  of  the  counties,  with  a  population 
four  times  greater,  earned  £,^2^. 

It  is  worth  while  noting  that  in  October,  1896,  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  distribution 
of  the  grants  of  the  Science  and  Art  Department ;  of 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  107 

its  six  members,  one  is  Mrs.  Henry  Sidgwick,  Principal 
of  Newnham  College. 

Beside  the  educational  work  of  the  Polytechnics,  the 
classes   under    County   Councils,    and   the    University 

Extension  movement,  dealt  with  in 
Education  ^^^  "^^^  section,  there  is  in  England 

a  notable  development  in  the  popular 
education  of  adults,  which  can  only  be  conveniently 
classified  here.  It  is  partly  educational,  but  largely 
social  and  recreative  in  addition.  France  is  about  to 
reorganize  secondary  instruction  for  adults,  a  result  of 
two  important  social  congresses  held  at  Le  Havre  and 
Bordeaux.  M.  F.  Buisson  came  to  London  to  see  what 
was  being  done  on  this  side  of  the  Channel,  and  has 
published  a  book  on  his  observations,  including  mono- 
graphs by  the  men  and  women  at  work  in  the  move- 
ment.* The  beginnings  of  adult  education  for  the 
working  classes  are  traced  to  Anderson,  Black,  and  to 
Dr.  George  Birkbeck,  the  founders  of  Mechanics' 
Institutes,  now  numbering  about  2000  in  Britain.  The 
earliest  courses  of  evening  lectures  for  artizans  seem 
to  have  been  started  at  Glasgow.  We  have  seen  how 
this  movement  slipped  back  for  want  of  elementary 
education ;  but  the  idea  it  embodies  is  too  characteristic 
of  the  Saxon  race  not  to  reappear  in  many  ways.  "The 
first  impulse  of  a  Huxley,  a  Tyndall,"  says  M.  Emil 
Boutmy,  "  is  to  popularize  their  work."  This  altruistic 
spirit  calls  itself  religious,  or  philanthropic,  or  educational, 

♦  Viducation  populaire  des  adultes  en  Angleterre;  de  M.  F. 
BuissoN.     Hachette,  1896. 


io8         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

or  social  \  but  it  is  one  and  the  same,  and  causes  those 
who  know  us  to  admit  that  we  are  the  most  essentially 
democratic  and  social  of  all  the  great  nations,  despite, 
and  to  some  extent  because  of,  our  terrible  extremes 
of  wealth  and  poverty.  It  shows  itself  in  another  form 
in  the  University  Settlements  now  to  be  found  in 
London  and  other  great  cities.  Of  these,  there  are 
now  ten  in  the  capital.  They  mark  the  growth  of  the 
idea  that  culture,  refinement,  education  are  not  for  the 
few,  but  for  all.  Toynbee  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  most 
Toynbee  Hall  typical  of  the  settlements.  Canon 
a  typical  Barnett   strongly  objects  to  Toynbee 

Settlement.  being    styled  a   mission   or   an    edu- 

cational centre, ;  he  prefers  to  call  it  a  club.  We 
shall  find  there  from  looo  to  1500  students  or  members 
attracted  to  the  club  for  one  reason  or  another.  Canon 
Barnett  is  of  opinion  that  about  one-third  of  these  are 
women.  Related  to  the  settlements  are  the  Social 
Institutes,  now  numbering  four  in  London,  and  a  host 
of  clubs  whose  aims  are  social,  moral,  and  educative. 
Gymnastics,  music,  the  aesthetic  sense,  hygiene  are 
more  or  less  cultivated  in  most  of  them,  besides  the 
encouragement  of  thrift,  and  fostering  of  friendly 
relations  between  members  of  the  aristocracy,  of  privi- 
lege, wealth,  and  culture,  and  Society's  workers.  No 
city  in  the  world  can  show  such  degradation — physical, 
mental,  and  moral — as  London;  the  curse  of  the  poor 
is  indeed  his  poverty.  But  neither  can  any  city  show 
such  eiforts  to  bridge  the  great  gulf  between  the  privi- 
leged and  unprivileged  classes.     The  whole  movement 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  109 

has  well  been  styled  the  secondary  education  of  the 
working  classes. 

The  offices  of  the  National  Home  Reading  Union 
are  situated  in  Surrey  House,  Victoria  Embankment. 
The  Union  has  a  membership  of  more  than  8000 — too 
The  National  small,  considering  the  excellence  of 
Home-reading  its  work.  Its  object  is  to  stimulate, 
Union.  encourage,   and   direct   home  reading 

in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it  educational  in  the  truest 
sense  of  the  word.  It  seeks  to  give  home  reading 
definiteness,  continuity,  and  system,  adapting  itself 
to  suit  the  wants  of  all  ages,  classes,  and  degrees  of 
culture  and  development.  The  work  is  done  by  means 
of  local  branches,  or  circles,  as  well  as  by  larger 
organizations,  such  as  literary  or  scientific  institutes, 
co-operative  societies,  and  labour  unions.  Naturally 
the  success  of  the  Union  depends  largely  on  the  zeal 
and  enthusiasm  of  the  local  circle  leaders  or  secretaries ; 
unhappily  these  must  largely  be  sought  among  teachers 
and  other  busy  persons,  whose  hands  are  already  full. 

The  circles  are  usually  formed  among  three  chief 
classes :  boys  and  girls  who  have  left  the  elementary 
schools,  and  whose  reading  needs  direction ;  artizans 
whose  tastes  incline  to  a  certain  measure  of  culture; 
and  a  third  class,  of  the  omnibus  kind,  embracing  all 
sorts  and  conditions  of  men  and  women.  Culture, 
not  class,  is  the  standard  of  the  Union.  Men  and 
women  who  have  been  to  the  university  accept  its 
guidance  in  their  special  studies.  Pupil  teachers  look 
to  it  for  direction  as  to  the  best  and  cheapest  books 


no         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN 

bearing  upon  their  work.  Board  school  managers 
accept  its  hints  as  to  methods  of  awakening  interest 
in  intellectual  life  after  leaving  school. 

The  Union  has  special  courses  in  English  History, 
Literature  (including  Shakspere  and  Browning  courses), 
Architecture,  Greek  and  Roman  History  and  Literature, 
French,  German,  Geography,  Ethics,  Economic  and 
Social  Science,  Travel,  Natural  Science,  and  other 
subjects.  It  is  instrumental  in  inducing  publishers 
to  undertake  cheap  editions  of  works  suitable  for  its 
purpose,  many  thousands  of  which  it  causes  to  be 
distributed  every  year.  The  reading  courses  are  drawn 
up  by  eminent  educationists,  and  clearly  show  that 
the  needs  of  different  classes  and  ages  are  understood. 
The  Union,  under  its  capable  secretary,  Miss  Mondy, 
is  adaptable.  An  instance  of  this  is  afforded  by  its 
readiness  to  work  in  with  the  recently  constituted 
Evening  Continuation  schools :  a  reading  circle  of 
the  N.H.R.U.  may  be  connected  with  the  schools, 
and  a  grant  earned  on  attendance. 

Another  feature  is  its  summer  assembly.  In  addition 
to  the  advantage  of  companionship  in  systematic 
reading,  personal  help,  and  stimulus  at  circle  meetings, 
the  N.H.R.U.  organizes  enjoyable  educational  summer 
holidays,  when  field  lectures,  excursions,  conferences, 
and  social  gatherings  are  arranged.  These  summer 
assemblies  are  held,  when  possible,  in  such  places  as 
best  illustrate  the  year's  work,  owing  to  their  possession 
of  historic  monuments,  or  to  their  offering  peculiar 
facilities  for  the  study  of  geology,  botany,  and  natural 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  in 

history  generally.  The  purpose  of  the  assembly  is  to 
give  a  vivid  and  realistic  interest  in  the  reading  of 
the  year. 

Since  1889  assemblies  have  been  held  at  Blackpool, 
Weston-super-Mare,  Bowness,  Ilkley,  Salisbury,  Buxton, 
Leamington,  and,  in  1896,  at  Chester. 

In  all  that  has  been  written  upon  Secondary  Educa- 
tion up  to  this  point,  only  the  explored  portions  of  the 
territory,  the  oases  of  the  desert,  have 
Land  ^^^^  briefly  examined.     It  is  a  sound 

axiom  to  proceed  from  the  known  to 
the  unknown,  but  here  it  necessarily  leads  to  vagueness. 
Figures  scarcely  exist  with  regard  to  Secondary  Education 
in  general ;  no  inquiry  has  ever  been  instituted  to  cover 
the  whole  of  England.  The  Royal  Commissioners  of 
1894-95  instituted  a  comparison  between  three  great 
endowed  schools,  as  they  were  in  1864  and  1893.  The 
selected  schools  were  Harpur's  Foundation  at  Bedford, 
the  Manchester  Grammar  School,  and  King  Edward 
VI.'s  Schools  at  Birmingham.  All  three  had  greatly 
improved,  especially  if  we  consider  the  share  given 
to  girls  in  the  endowments.  At  Birmingham  590  boys 
were  being  educated  in  1864;  the  numbers  had  in- 
creased to  1366  boys  and  1068  girls  in  1893.  But 
this  is,  of  course,  explored  territory.  No  doubt  the 
majority  of  English  girls  now  receiving  secondary 
education  obtain  it  at  home,  or  more  commonly,  in 
the  private  schools.  Of  these,  no  accurate  survey 
covering  the  whole  of  the  country  has  ever  been  made. 
The  most  important  conclusions  of  the  Schools  Inquiry 


112         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN 

Commissioners,  based  upon  eight  selected  districts,  have 

already  been  detailed. 

The  Commission  of  1894-95  allotted  seven  districts 

to  their  Assistant  Commissioners ;  and  there  is  no  reason 

to  suppose  that  what  is  true  of  these 
Private  Schools       ,.  ,  .  ^     ,  ,         1     .    .u       u  1 

;«,«^«„:««.  districts  does  not  apply  to  the  whole 

improving;^.  trv  j 

of  England.  The  number  of  private 
schools,  both  day  and  boarding,  is  variously  estimated 
at  from  10,000  to  15,000.  These  are  of  almost  every 
variety  of  excellence  and  miserable  inefficiency.  "  The 
worst  type  of  private  school  is  rarer  than  it  was  30 
years  ago,"  says  the  Report;  "yet  the  general  result 
of  our  inquiries  has  been  to  show  that  a  large  proportion 
of  these  schools  are  unsatisfactory."  Some  inefficient 
schools  continue  to  exist  because  of  such  reasons  as 
"lower  fees,  adaptation  of  the  curriculum  to  the  ideas 
of  parents,  laxity  in  enforcing  attendance,  or  supposed 
social  selectness."  The  Commissioners  are  of  opinion 
that  the  private  schools  have  improved  since  1869;  there 
are  more  of  the  better  ones,  fewer  of  the  bad  ones  than 
formerly.  Yet  there  still  are  "private  schools  which, 
carried  on  in  ill-ventilated  rooms  by  ignorant  persons 
with  no  qualifications  as  teachers,  represent  the  lowest 
depth  of  educational  stagnation  from  which  we  have, 
during  the  past  thirty  years,  been  emerging." 

A  few  years  ago  some  educationists  frankly  talked 
Private  Schools  ^^  sweeping  private  schools  out  of 
and  initiation  of  existence.  It  has  been  said  that  some 
Educational  of  the  Commissioners  began  their  work 

Reforms.  ^j^j^   ^  strong   prejudice  against    the 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  113 

private  schools,  and  ended  it  with  the  conviction 
that  there  was  much  to  be  said  in  their  favour. 
It  was  brought  home  to  their  minds  that  several 
great  educational  reforms  had  been  initiated  in  private 
schools,  and  that  able  and  enthusiastic  teachers  some- 
times leave  public  schools  and  take  to  private  ones 
because  of  the  gain  in  freedom  and  elasticity.  Germany, 
France,  and  the  United  States  are  now  calling  out  for 
private  schools.  "  It  is  possible,"  says  the  Report,  "  so 
to  order  the  conditions  of  educational  life  as  to  secure 
at  once  the  freedom  of  the  teacher  and  the  protection 
of  the  public." 

The  Commissioners  made  recommendations  which 
it  is  believed  will  attain  this  end.  Despite  the  extra- 
ordinary proposals  that  some  witnesses  made  to  the 
Commission,  such  as  that  public  authorities  should 
be  prevented  giving  any  pecuniary  support  what- 
ever to  public  secondary  schools,  which  they  did  not 
give  to  efficient  private  ones,  lest  the  latter  should  be 
handicapped,  private  teachers  as  a  whole  will  welcome 
reasonable  control  by  the  State ;  hardly  any  assume  the 
attitude  of  certain  German  and  French  educational 
reformers,  who  demand  the  abolition  of  all  State  inter- 
ference. There  is  a  growing  agreement  with  Dr. 
Schaible's  view,  published  as  early  as  1870,  that  the 
best  machinery  for  the  thorough  and  general  instruction 
of  the  nation  is  the  equilibrium  of  three  forces :  a 
system  of  State  schools,  endowed  schools,  and  private 
schools. 


114         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

Visit  to  Four  Secondary  Schools  for  Girls, 

The  North  London  Collegiate  School,  the  pioneer 
public  school  for  girls  in  England,  requires  more  than 
The  North  xsi&^Q     mention.       It    was    originally 

London  begun    in    1850    by    Frances    Mary 

Collegiate  School,  gugs  and  her  mother,  as  a  private 
school,  in  Camden  Town.  Two  years  before,  Miss 
Buss  had  attended  evening  classes  at  the  newly  founded 
Queen's  College,  in  Harley-street.  When  the  London 
Centre  for  the  Cambridge  Local  Examinations  was 
tentatively  opened  to  girls,  in  1863,  Miss  Davies  being 
the  secretary.  Miss  Buss  was  represented  by  twenty-five 
candidates  out  of  a  total  of  84.  Official  recognition 
of  the  importance  and  high  promise  of  the  new  school 
was  not  withheld,  for  in  November,  1865,  Miss  Davies 
and  Miss  Buss  were  called  to  give  evidence  before 
the  Royal  Commission  on  Secondary  Education.  In 
her  book,  Frances  Mary  Buss^*  Miss  Ridley  shows  how 
from  this  time  forward  the  idea  grew  in  Miss  Buss's 
mind  of  making  her  school  into  a  public  school  for  girls. 
In  1870  the  trust  deed  was  signed  by  several  old  friends 
and  other  influential  persons,  amongst  them  four  women. 
Then  followed  the  hard  struggle  to  find  the  money  to 
build  and  endow  the  new  public  school.  Few  stories 
are  so  moving  in  the  history  of  women's  education  as 
the  grave  difficulties  Miss  Buss  encountered.  No  one 
realizing  that  struggle  could  ever  again  look  with 
indifferent  eye  upon  the  handsome  buildings  of  the 
*  Published  by  Longmans,  Green,  and  Co.,  1896. 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  115 

North  London  Collegiate  School.  Miss  Ridley  tells 
us  "There  were  rare  tears  in  Miss  Buss's  voice  and 
eyes "  when  Miss  Ewart  gave  ;^iooo,  afterwards 
supplementing  the  gift  by  a  timely  loan.  Success 
came  at  last,  for  in  1872  two  great  city  companies 
came  to  the  rescue.  The  Brewers  gave  ;£4o,ooo  to 
build  and  endow  the  school ;  the  Clothworkers  followed 
with  an  offer  to  build  the  great  hall  and  an  annual 
grant  of  ;^io5  for  scholarships.  Miss  Buss  herself 
gave  ;£'iooo,  the  profits  she  gained  by  supervising  a 
preparatory  school,  about  ;£"i5oo  to  build  the  gymna- 
sium, as  well  as  sacrificing  additional  income  from  the 
Board  of  Governors,  which  should  have  been  hers  by 
right. 

This  first  Public  School  for  Girls  was  opened  by 
the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales,  in  1879,  and  for 
First  Public  Day  fifteen  years  Miss  Buss  remained  its 
School  for  Girls,  head-mistress,  a  period  long  enough 
opened  1879.  ^^  ^^^  j^^j.  ^^  j-g^p  ^  j^jgj^  reward, 

and  to  show  the  educational  world  that  a  great  step 
forward  had  been  taken.  The  North  London  Collegiate 
School  served  as  a  model  for  the  Girls'  Public  Day 
School  Company.  It  is  worked  under  a  scheme  drawn 
up  by  the  Charity  Commissioners  in  1875,  which 
scheme  also  covers  the  Camden  School  for  Girls. 

Together  the  two  schools  educate  about  a  thousand 
pupils.  The  North  London  Collegiate  School,  of 
which  Dr.  Sophie  Bryant  is  now  head-mistress,  is  a  first 
grade  school;  the  leaving  age  is  about  19,  and  its 
students  may  pass   directly  into  a  university  college 


Ii6  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

without  further  preparation.     The  Camden  School  is 

second  grade,  the  leaving  age  being 
The  Camden 
School.  10  or  17,  students  generally  remaining 

until  they  pass  the  Cambridge  Junior, 

or  some  equivalent  examination. 

The  buildings  of  the  North  London  Collegiate  School 
are  excellent,  including  a  handsome  hall  with  stained 
glass  windows,  well  furnished  class-rooms,  laboratories, 
a  large  gymnasium,  dining-room,  and  excellent  cloak- 
rooms. Convenience  and  suitability  are  the  distinguishing 
features. 

In  1879  such  buildings  were  unique;  happily,  all 
over  the  country,  and  especially  in  London,  buildings 
quite  as  good  are  becoming  common,  the  very  result 
at  which  Miss  Buss  aimed.  Morning  school  only 
obtains,  save  when  pupils  choose  to  remain  or  return 
for  music  and  preparation.  The  Princess  of  Wales  is 
President  of  the  Board  of  Governors,  on  which  there 
are  five  ladies. 

The  position  of  the  Cheltenham  Ladies'  College  is 
unique,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  that  it  covers  all 
The  Ladies'  ^^  ^""^^^  sections  into  which  this  work 

College,  is  divided.     In  the  main,  it  is  a  large 

Cheltenham.  secondary  school  for  girls,  with  some 

650  pupils.  Its  growth  has  led  to  important  develop- 
ments in  every  other  field,  the  scheme  now  covering 
secondary,  higher,  and  technico-professional  education. 

The  College  began  its  career  in  1854:  its  principal 
was  a  Miss  Proctor,  succeeded  by  Miss  Beale  in  1858. 
It  was  then  at  work  in  Cambray  House,  now  an  over- 


SECOND AR  Y  EDUCA TION  117 

flow  school  of  the  College.  The  present  College  does 
not  resemble  the  Royal  HoUoway  College  in  being  the 
"result  of  one  act  of  conception,  the  successive  stages 
of  a  single  intellectual  effort."  It  is  quite  the  reverse 
of  this;  building  has  been  added  to  building,  enlarge- 
ment here,  addition  there,  so  that  the  stranger  is 
usually  bewildered  by  the  variety  and  number  of  halls, 
rooms,  and  corridors. 

Miss  Beale  has  herself  written  the  history  of 
Cheltenham  College,  a  story  of  great  interest.  Up 
to  1873,  the  year  in  which  the  new  college  buildings 
were  entered,  it  was  a  school  of  about  150  girls,  its 
principal  having  to  live  down  a  good  deal  of  local 
opposition  to  a  girls'  school  daiing  to  style  itself  a 
college,  and  to  the  heterodox  idea  that  girls  need 
trouble  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  fractions  or 
Shakespeare.  "It  is  all  very  well,"  Miss  Beale  re- 
lates of  a  mother  who  withdrew  her  daughter  at  the 
end  of  a  quarter  of  new-fangled  tuition,  "for  my 
daughter  to  read  Shakespeare,  but  don't  you  think  it 
is  more  important  for  her  to  sit  down  at  the  piano  and 
amuse  her  friends?"  The  great  hall  of  assembly  can 
contain  600  pupils.  A  new  and  larger  one  is  being 
built,  capable  of  holding  1500  persons,  at  a  cost  of 
about  ;£2o,ooo.  A  handsome  museum  and  library, 
laboratories,  studios,  pictures,  statues,  statuettes,  stained 
glass  windows,  a  fine  organ,  all  go  to  show  education 
held  in  high  honour. 

The  staff  numbers  more  than  100 ;  of  students, 
including  those  who  attend  classes  as  by-students,  there 


Ii8         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

Staff  and  Pupils.  ^'^  ^oo.  About  500  pupils  live  in 
seventeen  boarding  -  houses  licensed 
by  the  Council.  A  point  is  made  that  all  students 
shall  be  daughters  of  professional  men,  or  those  who 
hold  a  certain  social  position. 

The  College  has  a  kindergarten  of  about  50  children 
under  trained  mistresses,  affording  practising  ground 
for  a  Kindergarten  Training  Department.  The  remain- 
ing 600  students  are  classed  in  three  great  divisions, 
subdivided  into  thirty-two  classes.  The  leaving  age 
is  seventeen  or  eighteen,  and  students  are  encouraged 
to  take  a  leaving  examination,  usually  the  Oxford 
Senior;  about  70  take  this  examination  in  July. 

In  addition,  the  College  affords  preparation  for  the 
Cambridge  Higher  Local,  and  for  the  examinations  of 
London  University,  including  those  for  the  degrees  of 
M.A.,  B.A.,  B.Sc.  This  section  of  its  work  entitles 
Cheltenham  to  a  place  among  the  colleges  devoted  to 
higher  or  university  education. 

The  third  school  visited  was  one  of  the  Girls'  Public 
Day  Schools  Company  at  Netting  Hill,  under  Miss 
Jones.  This  was  the  second  school 
Dav  School  opened  by  the  Company  in  September, 

1873,  the  first  having  been  at  Chelsea, 
in  January.  Notting  Hill  began  with  ten  pupils;  for 
many  years  it  has  had  its  complement,  400.  The 
school  was  rebuilt  in  1883,  and  has  now  a  hall  and 
series  of  pleasant  class-rooms.  It  is,  however,  by  no 
means  the  best  or  newest  building  the  Company  has 
erected.     Among  the  compulsory  subjects   are  mathe- 


SECOND AR  Y  EDUCA TION  1 1^ 

matics,  French,  German,  Latin.  Each  language  is  begun 
in  a  different  year ;  moreover,  Greek  is  frequently  taken 
in  the  upper  forms,  since  it  is  compulsory  for  certain 
examinations.  All  classes  take  a  science  subject,  such 
as  botany,  physiology,  chemistry;  there  is  a  special 
science  teacher  directing  this  work.  Drawing  is  com- 
pulsory as  far  as  the  upper  fifth  form.  Sewing  and 
physical  exercises  have  each  a  weekly  lesson.  The 
proportion  of  pupils  is  twenty-two  to  each  teacher.  A 
fair  proportion  of  the  students  pass  on  to  college  life ; 
others  enter  the  Post  Office,  Savings  Banks,  and 
employments  open  to  women.  Work  is  tested  by  the 
examination  of  the  Joint  Board,  and  the  whole  school 
examined  annually  by  an  examiner  of  the  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  Schools  Examination  Board. 

The  two  schools  first  described  are  unique,  the  life- 
work    of  two   pioneers    in    women's   education.     The 

Skinners'  School,  at  Stamford  Hill,  is 
The  Skinners'  .1        r    .•  c       .  c 

Co.'s  Middle  ^"  another  footmg,  one  of  a  type  of 

School  for  Girls,     schools  happily  becoming  more  com- 

Stamford  Hill,        mon.     The   Skinners'    Company   had 

London,     .  already  built  three   schools  for  boys, 

when  it  was  suggested  to  them,  presumably,  that  there 

exist  such    beings    as    girls.     Having    funds    at    their 

disposal,  they  fell  in  with  the  idea  that  their  next  school 

should  be  for  them.     The  foundations  were  laid,  and 

the  school  opened  in  1890.    The  Charity  Commissioners 

provided    a    scheme,    and    the    whole    work    was    so 

welcomed  by  the  neighbourhood  and  proved  so  highly 

successful,  that  in  1893  the  original  building,  intended 


120         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

to  accommodate  200,  had  to  be  enlarged  to  hold  350. 
The  Company  had  gained  the  services  of  an  able 
head-mistress,  Miss  Page,  who  had  up  till  then  been 
head  of  a  school  under  the  Girls'  Public  Day  School 
Company.  The  Skinners'  School  is  second  grade,  girls 
remaining  up  to  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age,  and 
working  to  the  standard  of  the  lower  and,  when  possible, 
the  higher  examinations  of  the  Joint  Board  of  Oxford 
and  Cambridge.  The  curriculum  of  this  school  having 
been  made  liberal  by  the  scheme  of  the  Charity  Com- 
missioners, the  standard  of  work  is  the  same  as  in  the 
middle  and  lower  parts  of  those  high  schools  where 
girls  remain  up  to  nineteen  years  of  age.  The  Great 
Hall  is  an  admirable  room,  light  and  beautiful,  with  a 
raised  platform,  capable  of  adaptation  to  many  purposes. 
Behind  it  is  a  memorial  window,  with  memorials  of 
Thomas  Hunt  and  Lawrence  Atwell,  at  which  one  gazes 
reverently.  Light  and  airy  class-rooms,  beautifully 
furnished,  open  off  the  sides  of  the  hall.  The  play- 
ground is  good,  judged  by  the  London  standard. 
Nothing  could  be  better  than  the  arrangement  of  the 
cloak-rooms :  the  seat  underneath  the  girl's  peg ;  the 
wires  below  the  seat  on  which  to  place  boots ;  the  shelf 
above  the  peg  for  books  whilst  their  owner  is  dressing, 
all  convince  the  visitor  that  some  one  who  has  studied 
girls'  needs  had  planned  them.  A  gymnasium,  a  studio, 
laboratory,  and  dining-room  deserve  to  be  mentioned. 
The  fees  are  low,  from  ;^4  to  ;£io,  and  this  is  perhaps 
the  reason  why  the  classes  average  thirty  or  forty  in 
number.     Indeed,  the  classes   in   all   the  girls'  public 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  121 

schools  visited  by  the  writer  are  far  too  large,  even 
when  the  fees  are  much  higher  than  at  the  Skinners' 
School.  The  curriculum  embraces  the  usual  subjects, 
with  a  good  deal  of  option  and  consideration  for 
individual  ability.  Drawing  is  compulsory  up  to  the 
sixth  form;  sewing  up  to  the  fifth.  A  fair  amount  of 
science  teaching  is  carried  on  in  this  school,  and  the 
science  mistress  commented  upon  the  interest  shewn  in 
it.  The  girls  seemed  to  be  of  much  the  same  class  as 
in  a  school  of  the  G.P.D.S.  Company ;  but  with  a  larger 
percentage  of  those  whose  parents  are  not  wealthy. 
Similar  schools  are  the  Aske's  School,  at  Hatcham ;  the 
Haberdashers'  School,  at  Hoxton ;  Dame  AUce  Owen's 
School,  Islington;  and  the  James  Allen  School,  at 
Dulwich. 

It  would  be  well  if  some  of  our  provincial  teachers, 
working  in  comparatively  dismal  surroundings,  could  see 
the  admirable  new  buildings  that  are  now  springing  up, 
especially  when  the  children  are  at  work  in  them. 
Light,  airy,  and  often  charmingly  decorated,  they 
favourably  affect  the  character  of  the  teaching,  and 
the  temperament  of  the  taught. 


Section  III. 

Ibtgbet  lEDucatton 

[I.] 

Higher  education  is  here  assumed  to  mean  education 
in    colleges    connected    with    the    universities,    or    in 

colleges  of  university  rank,  carried  on 

after  the  age  of  eighteen  or  there- 
abouts. It  must  be  noted  that  in  Britain  there  are  a 
number  of  excellent  secondary  schools  where  an  upper 
class  or  classes  receive  a  considerable  part  of  a 
collegiate  education. 

It  is  necessary  to  guard  against  the  error  that  higher 
education   for   women    is   peculiar   to   the   nineteenth 

century.  This  proceeds  from  a  survey 
nof  a^Novekv  ^°°  confined  to  the  seventeenth,  eighteenth, 

and  early  nineteenth  centuries;  if  we 
turn  to  the  work  of  women  in  the  monasteries,  we 
recognize  that  woman's  share  in  education  varies  at 
different  epochs.  Miss  Eckenstein  shows,  in  Woman 
U7tder  Monasticism^  how  women  shared  the  culture 
of  their  day,  especially  during  the  early  days  of 
monasticism,  the  sixth  to  the  eighth  centuries,  and  in  its 
golden  age,  the  twelfth.     In   the   first  period   we  find 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  123 

abbesses  taking  part  in  politics,  affixing  their  signature 
to  documents  in  token  of  dignity  and  assurance  of  royal 
good  faith ;  Hilda  of  Whitby  ruled  over  a  monastery 
of  men  and  women ;  five  of  the  men  who  studied  under 
her  were  raised  to  the  episcopate. 

As  poets,  letter-writers,  translators,  transcribers,  artists, 
nuns  took  a  respectable  place.  In  the  tenth  century, 
Literary  and  Hrotswith    wrote    dramatic    plays    in 

Artistic  activity  Latin  at  Gandersheim  ;  Ebert  tells  of 
of  Nuns.  j^gj.  fruitful  poetic  talent,  and  how  in 

Latin  drama  she  stands  alone;  in  the  twelfth  century, 
Herrad  produces  at  Hohenburg,  in  Alsace,  her  Garden 
of  Delights^  an  account  of  the  history  of  the  world 
illustrated  with  pictures  probably  drawn  by  herself  and 
coloured  by  the  nuns.  Two  of  these  pictures  caused 
Gerard  to  classify  Herrad  as  among  the  most  imagina- 
tive painters  the  world  has  known.  Gradually  the  nuns 
gave  up  such  work  for  devotion;  their  whole  time 
became  absorbed  in  ritual;  their  life  divorced  from 
practical  affairs.  Reformers  industriously  preached  that 
there  was  no  career  for  woman  apart  from  wifehood 
and  motherhood.  Henry  VHI.  permitted  Cromwell, 
Layton,  and  Legh  to  annex  or  destroy  the  nunneries, 
driving  forth  all  those — the  great  majority — who  were 
unwilling  to  go,  and  giving  their  buildings,  lands, 
revenues  to  others,  sometimes  for  the  endowment  of 
men's   colleges.*     It    should   be    recollected   that   the 

*  The  nunnery  of  St.  Radegund  was  transformed  into  Jesus 
College,  Cambridge,  by  the  good  offices  of  the  Bishop  of  Ely ; 
Fisher,    Bishop    of  Rochester,  used    his   interest    to   hand    over 


124  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

women  who  were  founding  colleges  and  professorships 
for  men,  as  did  Margaret  Beaufort,  shared  the  view  that 
women's  education  was  of  no  importance,  and  swelled 
Growing  indiffer-  the  growing  indifference  to  the  in- 
ence  to  Women's  tellectual  attainments  of  their  sex. 
intellectual  life.  Practically  the  Reformation  reclaimed 
even  the  unmarried  woman  for  the  home,  but  remained 
indifferent  to  the  culture  and  intelligence  with  which  she 
is  now  expected  to  dignify  it.  This  curious  belittling  of 
the  home  ideal  still  secures  the  practical  adhesion  of 
considerable  numbers,  and  affords  a  striking  instance  of 
misplaced  humility. 

Enough  has  been  written  to  prove  that  the  higher 
education  of  women  is  not  entirely  a  new  movement, 
but  rather  a  revival. 

There  have  been  always  those  who  directed  sneers 
and  satires  against  women's  ignorance :  especially  was 
Ridicule  poured  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^^e  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
on  learned  During  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth 

Women.  century,  we  find  Mary  Astell,  in  Chelsea, 

urging  better  education  for  women.  She  was  followed 
by  Mary  WoUstonecraft,  in  her  Rights  of  Woman.     In 

Bromhall  Nunnery  and  Lillchurch  to  St.  John's  College,  Cam- 
bridge ;  Wolsey  gave  St.  Frideswith's  to  Cardinal  College,  Oxford, 
now  known  as  Christ  Church,  and  possessing  the  largest  income 
from  endowment  of  all  the  Oxford  colleges.  Some  of  the 
prioresses  opposed  this  wholesale  confiscation ;  but  it  was  no  easy 
task  to  withstand  Henry  VIII.  and  his  minions.  If  the  prioress 
would  not  yield,  and  sign  papers  transferring  the  nunnery  to  the 
King,  she  was  deposed  for  a  more  pliant  head.  See  Miss 
Eckenstein's  chapter  on   "The  Dissolution  in  England." 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  125 

the  beginning  of  the  present  century  Sydney  Smith 
rebuked  the  accomplishment  craze  which  would  seek 
to  embellish  a  few  years  of  woman's  Hfe,  "years  which 
are  in  themselves  so  full  of  grace  and  happiness,  that 
they  hardly  want  it,  and  then  leaves  the  rest  of  existence 
a  prey  to  idle  insignificance."  Jean  Paul  Richter,  whose 
father  and  grandfather  before  him  were  teachers,  rebuked 
parents  who  sin  against  their  daughters  by  "shewing 
or  recommending,  even  indirectly,  any  excellence  they 
may  possess — be  it  art,  science,  or  the  sanctuary  of 
the  heart — as  a  lure  to  men,  or  a  bait  for  catching  a 
husband."  In  our  own  day,  Mr.  James  Bryce  alludes 
to  the  fact  "  that  women  have  minds  as  cultivable,  and 
as  well  worth  cultivating,  as  men's  minds,  is  still  regarded 
by  the  ordinary  British  parent  as  an  offensive,  not  to  say 
a  revolutionary  paradox."  Whatever  respect  social 
conventions  have  accorded  to  the  ignorant  woman  in 
society,  occasionally  she  has  been  told  the  plain  truth. 

We  should  naturally  expect  to  find  that  the  movement 
for  the  higher  education  of  women  during  the  present 
o    .    .  -        century  has  its  origin  in  more  causes 

the  Modern  than  one.     About  1833  the  Birkbeck 

Movement  in  Literary     and     Scientific     Institution 

uca  10a  opened  its  classes  to  women,  acknow- 

ledging their  claims  before  they  had  begun  to  urge 
them.  On  inquiry,  the  Principal,  Mr.  G.  Armitage- 
Smith,  reports  that  women  were  first  admitted  to  single 
lectures  delivered  twice  a  week  in  the  theatre  on 
educational  and  scientific  subjects.  Later  these  lectures 
developed  into  full  courses  given  in  class-rooms.     At  a 


126  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

date  subsequent  to  1833,  a  formal  resolution  was  passed 
admitting  women  to  the  full  advantages  of  the  Institution. 
The  present  Secrerary  reports  that  the  date  of  this 
resolution  was  long  before  that  of  his  appointment 
(185 1).  As  far  as  can  now  be  learned,  there  was  no 
agitation,  nor  even  special  applications  by  women. 
A  storm  of  ridicule  from  a  certain  section  of  the 
press  is  said  to  have  greeted  this  action  of  the  Council, 
but  the  Institution  has  never  turned  back  on  this  policy. 
In  her  able  article  upon  "University  Education  for 
Women  in  England,"*  Mrs.  Henry  Fawcett  shews  how 
women's  first,  formal,  organized  claim  to  the  rights  of 
citizenship  dates  from  1840,  when  two  American  ladies, 
Mrs.  Mott  and  Mrs.  Stanton,  were  excluded,  on  the 
ground  of  sex,  from  an  anti-slavery  convention  held  in 
London,  to  which  they  had  been  sent  as  delegates. 
The  two  movements  for  education  and  citizenship  are 
of  course  closely  united. 

In  1 84 1  we  find  the  Governesses'  Benevolent  Institu- 
tion beginning  to  move.  It  was  formally  organized  in 
Governesses'  ^^43  ^   ^^  aimed  at   the  assistance  of 

Benevolent  governesses   in   temporary  difficulties. 

Institution.  annuities  for  them,  a   home   for  the 

aged,  and  free  registration.  Soon  we  find  the  Com- 
mittee (presumably  men)  and  the  Ladies'  Committee 
face  to  face  with  want  of  qualification  and  competency. 
There  must  be  a  diploma ;  the  governesses  must  them- 
selves be  taught.     The  Report  of   1846  expressly  tells 

*  Addresses  and  Proceedings  of  International  Congress  of 
Education,  Chicago,  1893. 


HIGHER  EDUCATION"  127 

US  that  "  the  Committee  were  not  prepared  to  find  the 
higher  authorities  of  the  country  unawakened  to  the 
importance  of  female  education,  in  its  bearing  upon 
national  character,  and  thus  upon  national  prosperity," 
and  there  are  seditious  allusions  to  the  monopoly  of 
endowments  and  universities  by  the  privileged  sex. 
This  report  was  the  work  of  the  Rev.  David  Laing, 
then  honorary  secretary,  a  consistent  advocate  of 
women's  education.  The  Report  for  1847  tells  of 
arrangements  being  made  to  commence  classes  in  all 
departments  of  education,  and  of  the  gentlemen  who 
formed  the  Education  Committee  of  the  Governesses' 
Benevolent  Institution  busy  examining  the  governesses, 
and  giving  them  certificates. 

Next  year  Queen's  College  opened  in  Harley  Street, 
for  "an  improved  system  of  female  education  with 
Opening  of  ^^^  prospects   and   such   success   as 

Queen's  College,  its  most  sanguine  friends  dared  not 
^^  anticipate."     The  first  term  there  were 

200  entries,  and  45  lectures  given  per  week  by  such  men 
as  the  Rev.  F.  D.  Maurice,  Dean  Plumptre,  R.  C. 
Trench  (afterwards  Archbishop  of  DubHn),  Dr.  Brewer, 
and  others.  The  college  was  really  a  branch  of  the 
Institution ;  governesses  who  were  members  had  the 
right  of  attending  certain  lectures  free.*     In   1853  it 

*  They  sent  this  letter  of  thanks  to  the  Committee  in  1849  : 
"The  ladies  who  have  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  attending  the 
Evening  Classes,  are  anxious  to  express  their  gratitude  to  those 
gentlemen  who  have  so  kindly  contributed  to  their  improvement, 
and  who  have  devoted  so  much  time  to  that  purpose. 

"They  are  deeply  sensible  of  the  great  benefit  which  they  have 


128         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

separated  from  its  parent,  and  began  an  independent 
career  with  a  Royal  Charter  of  Incorporation;  ladies 
of  rank  and  title  became  visitors  to  the  college,  among 
them  Lady  Stanley  of  Alderley.  As  the  instruction 
at  Queen's  College  was  given  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  of  the  Church  of  England,  that  large  body 
of  educated  opinion  which  has  always  objected  to 
religious  tests  helped  to  found  another  college  for 
women  in  Bedford  Square,  on  an  undenominational 
basis,  in  1849.  To  this  end  Mrs.  John  Reid  lent 
solid  help. 

Amongst  the  early  scholars  of  Queen's  College  we 
find  Miss  Buss  and  Miss  Beale;  at  Bedford  College 
were  George  Eliot,  Mrs.  Craik,  Anna  Swanwick,  Mme. 
Bodichon,  while  Miss  Clough  and  Miss  Emily  Davies 
sat  on  the  Committee. 

The  movement  for  the  higher  education  of  women 
received  help  also  from  the  College  of  Preceptors, 
The  College  of  ^0^"^^^^  i"  ^^46.  It  is  true  that  at 
Preceptors—  first  the    College    was    intended    for 

Women  admitted,  men  only,  but  soon  a  Ladies'  Depart- 
'°49«  ment  arises,   under    the    auspices  of 

Miss  Edgeworth,  Miss  M.  A.  Strickland,  and  other 
able  women.  Happily  this  was  allowed  to  drop,  and 
in  1849  women  were  admitted  to  the  College,  profiting 
by  much  of  its  educational  programme.     By   1850  we 

derived  from  the  various  Lectures ;  and  unanimously  feel  that  they 
cannot  suffer  the  Term  to  close  without  offering  their  sincere  thanks 
to  all  the  Professors  for  their  valuable  instructions." 
About  forty  signatures  were  attached. 


I 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  129 

may  say  that  the  higher  education  movement  was  safely 
launched. 

The  position  of  Bedford  is  unique  among  the  women's 

colleges.     Its  history  covers  the   whole  period  of  the 

Revival   of  Learning  among  women. 

1^0°*^  ^^  ^^    "°^   ^^^y  ^   ^^^^   ^^  residence 

for  about  40  out  of  200  students, 
it  supplies  all  the  teaching  necessary  for  the  examina- 
tions of  London  University.  Moreover,  it  must  shortly 
be  recognized  as  a  constituent  college  of  London 
University,  and  is  now  subsidized  by  Parliament;  it 
also  receives  a  handsome  donation  from  the  London 
County  Council  for  technical  instruction. 

The  state  of  Secondary  Education  was  so  poor  during 
the  early  life  of  Bedford  College,  that  for  15  years  the 
Council  managed  a  secondary  school,  only  giving  it  up 
in  1868  to  devote  itself  entirely  to  higher  education. 
In  1874  the  College  removed  to  Baker  Street,  where  it 
has  extended  itself  backward  to  East  Street.  It  now 
possesses  six  excellent  laboratories,  erected  at  a  cost  of 
more  than  ;^6ooo. 

Bedford  does  not  aim  at  the  exact  assimilation  of  a 
curriculum  for  women  to  one  for  men.  Provision  was 
made  in  1895  for  instruction  in  art,  and  music  is  duly 
recognized.  Bedford  College  is  much  indebted  to  its 
able  and  vigorous  Council.  When  the  ParHamentary 
Share  in  the  Grant  of  ;f  15,000  per  annum  was  first 

Parliamentary        divided    among    university    colleges, 
Grant  Bedford  was  passed  over.     Some    of 

the   Council  worked  hard  to   obtain   a   share   of  this 


130  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

money,  and  gained  it  in  1894,  when  the  grants  were 
revised.  The  Council  are  sometimes  accused  of  appoint- 
ing men  to  vacant  professorships ;  but  their  defence  is 
that  they  always  choose  the  ablest  teacher,  regardless  of 
sex  distinction.  A  large  proportion  of  Bedford  students 
work  for  the  examinations  of  London  University. 

The  fate  of  Queen's  College  has  been  different.  The 
Schools  Inquiry  Commission  observed,  in  1868,  in  its 
report,  that  it  has  almost  entirely  taken  up  secondary 
education.  It  now  has  a  middle  school  for  girls  up 
to  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  courses  in  the  College 
proper  for  students  between  about  fourteen  and  eighteen, 
the  course  covering  four  years. 

About  the  sixties,  educational  associations  of  women 
arose  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  At  Liverpool 
Educational  we  find  a  Ladies'  Educational  Society 

Associations  of  in  1866,  which  led  to  the  University 
Women.  Extension  movement ;   at  Leeds,  the 

Yorkshire  Ladies'  Council  of  Education ;  in  London, 
187 1,  the  National  Union  for  Improving  the  Education 
of  Women. 

Whilst  the  Schools  Inquiry  Commission  was  sitting 
in  1865-67,  Miss  Emily  Davies  presented  a  memorial 
to  the  members,  signed  by  twelve 
Memorial  notable  women,  chiefly  teachers,  draw- 

ing attention  to  the  great  need  that 
existed  of  a  place  of  education  for  adult  female 
students,  and  alluding  to  such  a  foundation  as  amongst 
the  most  urgent  educational  wants  of  the  time.  The 
memorial  was   endorsed   by  the   signatures   of  nearly 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  131 

200  persons,  amongst  them  Kay-Shuttleworth,  Huxley, 
Ruskin,  Canon  Norris,  Lyell,  Paget,  Tennyson,  Brown- 
ing, Grote,  Tyndall,  Grant  Duff,  Stansfeld,  Bain,  R. 
C.  Jebb,  Lyulph  Stanley,  J.  E.  Gorst.  About  25  of 
the  signatures  are  women's,  the  remainder  belonging 
to  professors,  scientists,  men  distinguished  in  literature, 
art,  and  politics.  Of  course  nothing,  not  even  the 
signatures  of  this  memorial,  can  convince  minds  of  a 
certain  order  that  the  movement  for  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  women  is  anything  but  a  blow  aimed  at  the 
supremacy  of  one  sex. 

This  bold  idea  of  a  college  for  women,  connected 
with  one  of  the  ancient  universities,  owes  its  inception 
to  Miss  Emily  Davies,  first  presenting  itself  to  her  mind 
as  a  practical  project  in  October,  1866.  It  commended 
itself  to  the  London  Schoolmistresses'  Association,  who 
throughout  lent  cordial  assistance.  The  memorial 
already  alluded  to  was  presented  on  July  9th,  1867, 
and  for  the  next  two  years  we  find  Miss  Davies  and 
her  friends  busy  collecting  ;£3ooo  to  found  the  new 
college.     A  house  was  taken  at  Hitchin,  in  1869,  and 

work  began  with  six  students ;  this  was 
jg^  '      the  modest  beginning  of  Girton  College. 

It  excited  a  fair  amount  of  ridicule, 
disapproval,*  and  more  or  less  good-humoured  banter. 

*  "There  is  no  doubt  that  this  sort  of  woman,"  says  a 
Quarterly  Reviewer  in  1869,  "will  not  be  popular  with  men." 
Probably  he  had  not  seen  the  memorial  just  alluded  to.  He 
goes  on  to  say  that  this  new  college  might  have  his  approval  if 
the  students  were  taught  to  sew,  teach,  keep  house,  read  aloud, 
make  their  own  dresses,  and  be  helpful  at  mission  working  parties. 


132  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

In  1873  the  young  college  removed  to  Girton,  two 
miles  from  Cambridge,  where,  by  a  series  of  extensions, 
accommodation  now  exists  for  104  students,  exclusive 
of  the  teaching  staff  and  officials.  The  buildings  are 
excellent ;  every  year  the  grounds  become  more  beauti- 
ful, but  the  distance  from  Cambridge  is,  in  some 
respects,  disadvantageous.  It  is  an  open  secret  that 
the  executive  deferred  to  public  opinion  in  planting  the 
women  students  so  far  from  the  town;  they  could  not 
possibly  foresee  that  public  opinion  would  rapidly  veer 
round  to  their  side,  and  leave  them  in  the  position 
of  having  over-estimated  their  opponents'  sense  of 
propriety. 

The  women's  colleges  are  so  carefully  managed  and 
financed  that  the  average  of  comfort,  of  a  pleasant,  and 
even  enjoyable,  existence,  is  high.  Women  co-operate 
more  than  is  the  case  in  men's  colleges,  almost  all  meals 
being  taken  in  hall.  One  result  is  that  the  cost  of 
their  maintenance  is  usually  smaller. 

By  its  memorandum  of  association  Girton  College 
must  provide  for  the  students'  instruction  and  for 
religious  services  in  accordance  with  the  principles 
of  the  Church  of  England;  a  conscience  clause 
prevents  friction.  Since  the  foundation,  575  students 
have  been  in  residence,  and  of  these  the  large  number 
of  370  have  obtained  honours  according  to  the  Cam- 
bridge University  standard,  and  hold  the  "equivalent 
of  a  degree."  The  College  has  rigorously  maintained 
that  the  students'  work  must  be  judged  by  the  standards 
recognized  by  the  university.     Few  will  doubt  that  this 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  133 

was  a  wise  policy  to  begin  with.     Up  to  1881,  when 

formal  permission  was  given  to  women  to  sit  for  the 

-        ,  .         degree  examination,  students  who  did 

Formal  permis-  °  ' 

sion  for  Women  'f^ot  read  for  honours  at  Girton  used 
to  sit  for  the  to  read  for  the  ordinary  degree ; 
Degree  Examina-  ^^^    ^j^jg   ^^^    ^^^^^      -^^  ^^^^^ 

tion,  1881.  ^  ^  . 

1882.     Formal  permission   to  sit  for 

the  University  Honours  Examinations  marks  a  great 
step  in  advance.  It  was  partly  due  to  the  success  of 
Miss  Charlotte  Scott,  who  in  1880  took  the  mathe- 
matical tripos,  and  was  bracketed  with  the  eighth 
wrangler.  This  aroused  extraordinary  enthusiasm  both 
among  men  and  women.  In  1887  the  only  person 
at  Cambridge  who  attained  the  first  division  of  the 
first  class  in  the  classical  tripos  was  Miss  A.  F.  Ramsay. 
In  one  year  Girton  had  seven  first  classes :  the  college 
is  small,  and  it  was  pointed  out  at  the  time  that  if  a 
large  men's  college  had  obtained  as  many,  it  would 
have  done  admirably.  But,  indeed,  successes  at  the 
women's  colleges  are  now  far  too  common  to  excite 
much  attention  save  in  academic  circles  and  in  the 
women's  papers. 

Newnham  was  founded  in  consequence  of  a  demand 
by  women  at  a   distance   to   share   the  advantages  of 

certain  lectures  given  specially  to 
Newnham  r  j 

College,  1871.        women  by  Cambridge  University  men. 

In  1871  Miss  A.  J.  Clough  took  a 
house  in  Cambridge  for  five  students.  Year  by  year 
the  college  has  steadily  developed  until  it  now  includes 
three    halls— Clough,   Sidgwick,    and    Old    Hall,   and 


134  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

Stands  on  a  site  of  more  than  eight  acres.  It 
accommodates  158  students,  besides  the  teaching  staff 
and  other  officials.  Past  and  present  students  now 
number  1050;  of  these,  433  have  passed  in  the  various 
triposes,  mathematics,  classics,  moral  sciences,  natural 
sciences,  history,  mediaeval  and  modern  languages,  law. 
Tripos  examinations  are,  of  course,  those  through  which 
men  obtain  honour  degrees.  Newnham  is  entirely 
unsectarian,  no  religious  test  having  ever  been  imposed. 
Fees  payable  to  the  college  amount  to  75  guineas  per 
annum.  Students  have  mainly  bed-sitting-rooms  at 
Newnham,  whereas  at  Girton  they  enjoy  the  luxury  of 
two  rooms,  and  pay  fees  amounting  to  100  guineas. 

Newnham,  too,  has  her  notable  successes :  in  1890 
Miss  Philippa  Fawcett  was  placed  above  the  Senior 
Wrangler.  In  1891  she  was  also  in  the  first  division 
of  the  first  class  in  part  II.  of  the  mathematical  tripos. 
In  1893  Miss  A.  M.  Johnson  was  placed  between  the 
fifth  and  sixth  wranglers.  Next  year  she  was  the  only 
person  in  the  first  division  of  the  first  class  in  part  II. 
of  the  tripos.  In  1895,  out  of  49  students  who  entered 
for  tripos  examinations  from  Newnham,  12  took  first 
classes,  24  second  classes,  12  third  classes,  and  one 
an  aegrotat. 

The  position  of  women  at  Cambridge  is  peculiar. 
They  are  students;  Girton  and  Newnham  are  recog- 
Position  of  nized  as   hostels,  residence  at  which 

Women  at  for  a  certain  length  of  time,  together 

Cambridge.  ^j^jj   ^^  passing  of  preliminary   ex- 

aminations prescribed   by  the   University,  confers  the 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  135 

right  of  entering  for  examination  for  honour  degrees. 
A  man  is  legally  a  member  of  the  University  even 
during  his  undergraduateship.  Neither  as  under- 
graduate, nor  as  holder  of  the  equivalent  of  a  degree, 
is  a  woman  a  member  of  the  University.  She  may  not 
enter  for  the  ordinary  degree  examination,  only  for 
honour  degrees.  In  1880  a  great  attempt  was  made 
to  open  Cambridge  degrees  to  women.  It  was  un- 
successful ;  but  resulted  in  formal  permission  for  women 
to  enter  for  the  honour  examinations.  In  1887  the 
agitation  was  renewed  with  no  result  whatever,  the 
University  refusing  even  to  consider  the  question.  It 
was  opened  up  again  in  1896.  The  Council  of  the 
Senate  then  appointed  a  syndicate  to  consider  what 
further  privileges  (if  any)  should  be  granted  to  women 
in  Cambridge,  and  whether  they  should  be  admitted  to 
degrees.  The  Syndicate  has  been  instructed  to  report 
before  the  end  of  Michaelmas  term,  1896,  and  the 
agitators  are  not  without  hope  that  some  concession 
may  be  made,  though  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  will 
obtain  the  just  treatment  which  London  has  afforded 
to  women. 

The  women's  colleges — and  this  remark  applies  to 
them  all — have  greatly  helped  to  raise  the  status  of  the 
The  Colleges  teaching  profession,  which  a  large 
and  the  Teaching  proportion  of  their  students  enter. 
Profession.  Wi^'s>  Kennedy,  when  collecting  infor- 

mation in  1894  about  the  occupations  of  former 
Newnham  students,  found  that  out  of  a  total  of  720, 
374  entered  women's  great  profession.     Other  students 


136  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

become  doctors,  journalists,  bookbinders,  gardeners, 
clerks  to  the  Labour  Commission,  secretaries,  mis- 
sionaries; 230  returned  to  live  at  home,  and  of  these 
108  married.  Miss  Constance  Jones  is  of  opinion 
that  about  two-thirds  of  the  Girton  students  become 
teachers ;  but  no  precise  calculation  has  yet  been 
made. 

At  Oxford  the  position  of  women  is  not  so  satisfactory 
as  at  Cambridge,  inasmuch  as  the  University  does  not 

grant  certificates  to  women  who  pass 
Women  at  ,  .      .         .      , 

Oxford  honour  exammations,  m  the  same  way 

as  Cambridge  grants  them   to  those 

who  have  passed  triposes.     (These  certificates  are  given 

to  women  only,  never  to  men.)     At  Oxford,  women's 

colleges    are    smaller    and    more    numerous    than    at 

Cambridge.     There  are  now  four,  since  St.  Hilda's,  a 

house  established  as  a  branch  for  students  connected 

with   the    Ladies'    College   at  Cheltenham,   has  quite 

recently  taken  rank  as  a  hall.     It  may  here  be  noted 

that  the  examinations  at  Oxford  were  formally  opened 

to  women  in  1884. 

Somerville  Hall  and  Lady  Margaret  Hall  both  started 

in  1879,  each  with  nine  students.     The  stated  objects 

of  the  founders  of  Somerville  are  "  to 
Somerville  Hall,       „     ,  ..  j      4. 

g  afford    young    women,    at    moderate 

expense,  such  facilities  for  their  higher 
education  as  will  enable  them  better  to  fulfil  the  duties 
of  life,  and,  if  need  be,  to  earn  an  honourable  and 
independent  livelihood,  and  to  help  forward  the  edu- 
cation of  women  throughout  the  country."     Somerville 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  137 

has  twice  been  enlarged,  and  now  affords  accommodation 

for  seventy  students.     Up  to  June,  1896,  225  students 

had  been  in  residence,  of  whom   120  had  passed  an 

honour  examination  similar  to  that  taken  by  men  as 

the  degree  course.      Somerville   is   named  after  Mary 

Somerville ;  it  is  the  largest  of  the  three  halls,  and  is 

the  only  undenominational  hall  for  women  at  Oxford. 

Miss  Maitland  is  the  Principal. 

Lady  Margaret  Hall  is  named  after  Lady  Margaret 

Tudor,  mother  of  Henry  VIL     It  has  added  house  to 

house  during  its  existence,  and  can 
Lady  Margaret  -,       r 

Hall   1870.  "^^  accommodate  forty-eight  students. 

In  October,  1896,  it  removed  to  new 

buildings  close  to  the  old  hall.      Since  opening,   210 

students   have   passed   through   Lady   Margaret,   many 

of  whom  are   now   teachers.      The    Secretary   reports 

that  all  but  a  very  few  lectures  are  now  open  to  women 

students  at  Oxford. 

St.    Hugh's   was    begun    by   Miss   Wordsworth,   the 

Principal  of  Lady  Margaret,  for  the  education  of  twenty- 

„    „     . .  five  students  who  could  not  afford  the 

St  Hugh's 

Hall   1886.  ^^^^   ^^  ^^y  Margaret   Hall.      This 

college  is  named  after  St.  Hugh  of 
Lincoln.  There  are  also  home  students  residing  in 
Oxford,  not  members  of  any  hall.  Altogether,  the 
women's  colleges  at  Oxford  accommodate  about  150 
students.  The  conditions  and  regulations  that  obtain 
there  are  not  readily  comprehended,  and  require  a 
word  of  explanation. 

Women  are  not  required  to  reside  in  a  "hostel"; 


138         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

they  may  live  in  their  own  houses  at  Oxford,  or  not 

Association  for       ^^    ^^^°'^    ^^    ^^^-     ^^^"    f°'    ^^"' 
the  Education        residence    is    only    required    for    the 
of  Women  at         degree.     Women  have  also  been  per- 
^  °^  *  mitted  to  enter  for  final  examinations 

without  taking  the  whole  course  required  for  the  degree, 
though,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  class  obtained  in  an 
honour  examination  of  the  University  is  clearly  indi- 
cated on  the  certificate  received,  and  such  certificate 
is  of  more  importance  than  minor  examinations  that 
may  or  may  not  have  been  omitted.  Hence  there 
has  arisen  a  good  deal  of  uncertainty  as  to  the  value 
and  significance  of  the  Oxford  certificates.  To  remedy 
this  uncertainty,  an  Association  for  the  Education  of 
Women  at  Oxford  has  been  founded.  It  provides 
lectures,  arranges  private  tuition,  and,  above  all,  issues 
two  diplomas,  one  granted  only  to  students  who  have 
taken  the  full  degree  course  with  honours,  and  resided 
the  requisite  three  years,  and  another  granted  to  those 
who  have  taken  an  alternative  course  of  three  exam- 
inations approved  by  the  Council,  and  who  have  resided 
the  same  length  of  time.  The  value  of  the  Oxford 
student's  course  will  thus  be  apparent  to  anyone  who 
understands  the  University  curriculum.  A  certificate 
will  be  given  to  resident  students  who  have  taken  an 
honour  examination  but  have  not  qualified  for  the 
diploma. 

The  proposal  to  admit  women  to  the  B.A.  degree  at 
Oxford  was  brought  before  the  Congregation  of  the 
University  in  March,  1896,  by  means  of  the  Association 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  139 

for  the  Education  of  Women  at  Oxford,  and  rejected 

by  215  votes  to  140.     Great  efforts  were  made  on  both 

sides,  and  it  will  hardly  be  possible  to  agitate  again  for 

some  years. 

Perhaps  few  things  are  more  conspicuous,  in  making 

a  tour  of  the  women's  colleges,  than  the  devotion  of 

^.       ^       ,  the  students,  and  indeed  of  all  con- 

Pious  Founders. 

cerned    m   the  management,   to    the 

pious  founder.  They  have  no  monopoly  of  this  attitude 
of  mind :  but  whereas  William  of  Wyckham,  Margaret 
Beaufort,  Wolsey,  and  the  rest  of  the  noble  army  of 
founders,  are  somewhat  remote  from  modern  life,  the 
movement  for  women's  education  is  still  so  young  that 
the  pious  woman  founder  has  been  personally  known, 
her  life  felt  as  a  living  influence.  As  an  illustration, 
Newnham  set  up,  in  1894,  beautiful  bronze  gates  as  a 
memorial  to  Miss  Clough.  "She  would  have  cared 
little  that  her  name  should  be  lost,  if  her  work  went 
on,"  observed  one  of  the  speakers  at  the  opening 
ceremony.  The  students,  and  above  all  the  older 
women  who  sit  on  college  councils,  and  who  were  often 
deprived  in  youth  of  the  opportunities  of  a  fuller  and 
freer  life  which  women  now  enjoy,  are  determined  that 
names  like  hers  shall  not  be  lost.  When  new  wings, 
halls,  laboratories,  libraries  are  opened,  or  scholar- 
ships founded,  the  names  of  Reid,  Clough,  Pfeiffer, 
Kennedy,  Bodichon,  Sidgwick,  Stanley  of  Alderley,  are 
commemorated  with  great  enthusiasm.  The  business 
energy  of  these  pioneers,  the  courage  with  which  they 
faced    ridicule,   the    tact    with    which    they    disarmed 


140  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

opposition  and  rallied  to  their  side  waverers  as  well 
as  conscientious  adherents  of  both  sexes,  the  devotion 
shewn  in  giving  or  collecting  money  to  extend  or  free 
from  debt  women's  institutions,  could  not  indeed  well 
be  forgotten. 

The  University  of  London  was  the  first  academic 
body  in  the  United  Kingdom  to  throw  open  its  degrees, 
Women  honours,  prizes   to   students   of   both 

in  London  sexes,    on   terms   of  perfect   equality. 

University.  jhis  it  did  in    1878,  by  means  of  a 

supplemental  charter.  Previously  the  University  had 
attempted  to  meet  the  demand  for  the  improved 
education  of  women  by  instituting  special  examinations 
for  them.  But  those  for  whom  they  were  intended 
thought  little  of  the  privilege  conferred,  shewed  no  wish 
for  exclusive  instruction,  and  it  soon  became  evident  that 
women  must  have  the  same  tests  or  qualifications  as  men. 
Doubtless  it  was  in  the  women's  favour  that  London 
is  not  a  teaching  university,  and  that  its  charter  dates 
from  1836.  No  conditions  of  residence  having  been 
laid  down,  and  no  accretions  of  past  centuries  having 
to  be  broken  through,  the  opening  of  the  said  degrees, 
honours,  and  prizes  has  been  a  far  easier  task  than 
that  which  Oxford  and  Cambridge  must  presently  face. 
The  women's  charter  of  1878  was  itself  a  result  of  the 
wide  educational  movement  which  has  been  faintly 
traced  \  but  it  has  also  become  the  cause  of  further 
developments,  and,  despite  a  growing  feeling  among 
educationists  that  examination  has  a  cramping  as  well 
as  a  hurrying  effect  upon  development,  and  that  too 


HIGHER  EDUCATION 


141 


large  a  proportion  regard  examination  as  an  end  in 
itself,  has  encouraged  and  inspired  a  movement  growing 
in  depth  and  volume. 

Successes  '^^^  following  is  a  list  of  women's 

at  London  successes     in     the     examinations    of 

University.  London  University,  completed  to  Dec. 

1895.  Where  a  degree  is  conferred  by  such  success, 
the  letters  follow  : — 


ARTS. 


Matriculation 

.     3762 

Intermediate  Arts    . 

.       991 

Bachelor  of  Arts 

.       603 

B.A. 

Master  of  Arts 

49 

M.A. 

Doctor  of  Literature 

I 

D.Lit 

Intermediate  Science 

.       181 

Bachelor  of  Science 

.       106 

B.Sc. 

Doctor  of  Science    . 

5 

D.Sc. 

MEDICINE. 

Preliminary  Scientific 

.      167 

Intermediate  Medicine 

73 

Bachelor  of  Medicine 

.        53 

M.B. 

Doctor  of  Medicine 

15 

M.D. 

Bachelor  of  Surgery 

10 

B.S. 

Master  of  Surgery 

I 

M.S. 

During  the  sixty  years  that  London  University  has 

been  an  examining  body  only,  much  of  its   teaching 

„  .       .  has    been    obtainable    at    University 

University 

College,  London.  College,  and  King's  College,  Strand. 

The  classes  at  the  former  are  con- 


142         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

ducted  by  able  professors,  and  with  one  notable 
exception — that  of  medicine — are  alike  open  to  men 
and  women.  There  is  no  separate  department  for 
women ;  they  attend  the  professors'  classes  along  with 
men,  "sitting  cheek  by  jowl,"  as  opponents  of 
co-education  phrase  it.  A  lady  superintendent  (Miss 
Morison)  has  a  certain  oversight  of  all  women  students ; 
and  for  those  for  whom  residence  is  desired,  it  can  be 
found  at  College  Hall,  Byng  Place,  under  the  care  of 
Miss  Grove.  As  an  experiment  in  co-education,  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  the  system  used  at  University 
College  has  been  perfectly  successful.  If  the  size  of 
a  class  compels  a  professor  to  divide  it,  surely  few 
practical  teachers  will  deny  that  ability  rather  than  sex 
should  usually  form  the  line  of  division.  In  all,  about 
400  women  attend  the  classes  at  University  College. 
Of  these,  a  majority  are  working  for  degrees;  but  a 
certain  number  follow  classes  in  fine  art,  Egyptology, 
archaeology,  and  similar  subjects.  Thirty-four  students 
find  residence  at  College  Hall.  With  regard  to  the 
position  of  women  as  members  of  London  University, 
it  is  satisfactory  to  note  that,  as  graduates,  women  are 
duly  quaUfied  members.  The  Charter  of  1878  enacted 
that  no  woman  should  be  a  member  of  Convocation 
until  a  resolution  should  be  passed  to  that  effect.  This 
was  done  on  January  17th,  1882,  practically  as  soon  as 
women  were  qualified;  and  now  they  vote,  and  take 
part  in  all  the  proceedings  of  Convocation,  shewing  great 
interest. 

The   ladies'  classes  connected  with   King's  College 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  143 

seem  to  partake  largely  of  the  nature  of  the  University 
Extension  movement,  and  adapt  themselves  a  good 
King's  College,  deal  to  the  requirements  of  a  wealthy 
Ladies'  London  suburb.     The  Ladies'  Depart- 

Department.  ^^^^  -^  situated  in  Kensington  Square. 

Lectures  are  given  by  the  professors  of  King's  College, 
or  other  lecturers  appointed  from  time  to  time  to 
lecture  on  a  subject  for  which  a  special  desire  has 
been  expressed,  e.g,  Wagner,  Browning.  There  is 
no  residence  attached;  and  though  a  certain  number 
of  students  prepare  for  university  examinations,  the 
majority  are  ladies  living  at  home,  desirous  of 
working  up  certain  subjects  in  which  they  feel  an 
interest.  Such  students  number  between  300  and  400, 
and  if  they  pass  in  a  sufficient  number  of  subjects,  and 
remain  two  years  at  the  College,  receive  a  diploma. 
Weekly  paper  work  and  a  terminal  examination  are 
features  of  the  work.  The  subjects  taken  are  very 
various,  embracing  ancient  and  modern  history, 
Uterature,  languages,  ethics,  art,  music,  mathematics, 
domestic  economy,  recitation,  wood -carving,  and  so 
forth.  It  is  proposed  to  begin  a  class  of  students 
who  shall  work  for  the  arts  examinations  of  London 
University. 

Two    colleges    specially  for  women    remain    to  be 
mentioned.     Westfield  College  is   an  outcome  of  the 

resolution  taken  by  the  University  of 
Westfield  .       ,        •       o  o   /  '.A 

College,  1882.        London,  m  1878,  to  open  its  degrees, 

honours,  and  prizes  to  women  on  the 
same  footing  as  they  are  open  to  men.     Places  of  study 


144         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

to  obtain  the  degrees  of  a  non-resident  university 
became  necessary ;  they  therefore  arose.  Westfield  was 
founded  in  1882  with  the  avowed  object  of  preparing 
women  for  London  degrees,  and  affording  them 
residence.  The  trust  deeds  declare  that  there  shall 
be  in  the  College  religious  teaching  of  a  strictly 
Protestant  character,  "in  conformity  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Reformation  and  in  harmony  with  the 
doctrines  of  the  Church  of  England,"  though  students 
need  not  necessarily  be  members  of  that  Church.  The 
mistress,  Miss  E.  L.  Maynard,  one  of  the  earliest 
students  at  Girton,  is  under  the  control  of  a  Council. 
At  first  the  College  carried  on  its  work  in  private  houses 
at  Hampstead;  it  was  so  successful  that  in  1891  a  large 
wing  was  built  facing  the  south-east.  There  is  room 
for  45  students,  whose  zeal,  and  the  ability  of  the 
teachers,  cause  no  small  share  of  the  degrees,  honours, 
and  prizes  of  London  University  to  fall  to  the  College. 
As  is  usual  with  women's  colleges,  Westfield  is 
hampered  by  want  of  funds  and  scholarships;  it  pos- 
sesses several  laboratories,  but  for  physics  is  obliged 
to  send  its  students  to  work  at  Bedford  College,  whose 
laboratories  are  probably  the  best  for  women  in  the 
kingdom.  Westfield,  whose  existence  is  largely  due 
to  the  munificence  of  Miss  Dudin  Browne,  stands  in 
three  acres  of  its  own  grounds,  and  provides  each 
student  comfortably  with  sitting  and  bed-room.  The 
fees  are  ;£^io5  per  annum,  with  no  extras;  the  college 
even  pays  examination  fees. 

People  who  have  never  taken  the  short  journey  from 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  145 

Waterloo  to  Egham,  some  twenty-one  miles,  will  pro- 
bably be  as  surprised  as  the  writer  to 
Coufge"°i887*^  find  the  College  built  upon  a  scale 
of  unparalleled  magnificence,  and  with 
an  extraordinary  completeness  of  service  arrangement. 
What  strikes  one  at  the  first  glance  is  the  unity  of 
design ;  the  College  is  what  architects  term  the  result 
of  one  act  of  conception,  the  successive  stages  of  a 
single  intellectual  effort.  The  style  is  French  Renais- 
sance. Those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  Chateau  de 
Chambord  tell  us  that  though  it  is  built  of  white  stone, 
whereas  the  College  is  of  red  brick  faced  with  Portland 
stone,  the  general  effect  of  the  two  structures  is  not 
dissimilar.  HoUoway  College  covers  more  ground 
than  any  other  women's  college  in  the  world;  it  forms 
a  double  quadrangle,  measuring  550  feet  by  375  feet. 
The  two  long  blocks  are  each  five  stories  high,  and 
are  mainly  used  for  the  housing  of  students,  each  having 
her  own  sitting  and  bed-room.  The  buildings  which 
connect  these  two  great  blocks,  the  corridors  of  which 
are  a  tenth  of  a  mile  long,  embrace  a  chapel  to  the  left 
of  the  vestibule  on  entering,  highly  ornate,  and  with 
barrel  roof;  on  the  right,  a  picture  gallery  containing 
an  excellent  collection  of  modern  paintings ;  the  central 
connecting  block  contains  on  one  side  the  handsome 
dining  hall,  on  the  other  the  kitchens;  the  last  connecting 
block  contains  a  library  and  museum,  both  beautifully 
fitted,  though  the  furnishing  of  the  latter  is  scarcely 
begun.  The  library  is  subsidized  to  the  extent  of 
;^2oo  per  annum,  of  which  £^1^0  purchases  new  books, 


146  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

There  are  besides  a  sanatorium  in  the  grounds,  chemical 
and  biological  laboratories,  an  excellent  swimming  bath, 
a  gymnasium  fitted  up  with  every  possible  requisite,  a 
clock  tower,  water  tower,  an  installation  of  electric  light, 
twelve  music -rooms  with  deadened  walls,  a  racquet 
court.  The  whole  building  stands  in  ninety-six  acres 
of  ground,  including,  of  course,  cricket  pitch  and 
tennis  courts.  It  is  said  that  the  College  was  built 
to  accommodate  250  students,  with  ample  room  for 
the  staff  and  servants;  the  total  number  of  rooms  is 
about  eight  hundred.  The  founder,  Mr.  Thomas 
Holloway,  who  died  in  1883,  built  the  College  by  the 
advice  and  counsel  of  his  wife,  and  spent  upon  it  the 
princely  sum  of  ;^8oo,ooo ;  the  building  alone  cost 
;^257,ooo. 

It  was  in  the  founder's  mind  that  this  great  and 
imposing  building  should  form  the  nucleus  of  a  women's 
university,  in  course  of  time  conferring  its  own  degrees 
on  students.  The  dead  hand  of  the  past  was  not  to 
rest  heavily  upon  it,  Mr.  Holloway  holding  the  belief 
that  women's  education  should  not  be  exclusively 
regulated  by  the  traditions  and  methods  of  former  ages. 
No  doubt  he  showed  wisdom  in  giving  prominence  to 
drawing  and  painting  in  the  curriculum  as  well  as  music; 
certain  service  rooms  could  easily  be  used  for  practical 
instruction  in  cookery  what  time  women  choose  to 
release  themselves  from  the  bondage  of  examination 
curricula  laid  down  by  men  for  men.  Already  courses 
of  instruction  have  been  given  in  cookery,  ambulance 
work,  sick  nursing,  wood  carving,  dressmaking.     Mean- 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  147 

time  Holloway  has  only  some  ninety  students,  who 
mostly  prepare  for  the  examinations  of  London 
University  and  of  Oxford.  At  the  time  of  writing  (July, 
1896),  some  sixty  students  of  Holloway  have  graduated 
in  the  University  of  London  in  arts  and  science.  The 
laboratories  of  the  College  include  some  thirteen  or 
fourteen  rooms,  fitted  up  with  everything  that  a  student 
in  natural  science  could  possibly  need.  Candidates 
for  admission  must  be  over  seventeen ;  the  fees  are 
;£'9o  per  annum,  with  very  few  extras. 

The  College  was  opened  in  October,  1887,  and  has 
already  gained  very  considerable  university  distinctions. 
Perhaps  one  of  its  least  admirable  features  is  the  small- 
ness  and  insignificance  of  the  lecture  theatre,  quite  a 
low  room  in  the  basement.  Doubtless,  should  the 
numbers  grow,  the  handsome  hall  now  known  as  the 
museum  could  be  utilized  for  lecturing  purposes.  The 
friends  of  women's  education  will  probably  closely  watch 
the  development  of  Holloway  College  for  one  reason, 
if  for  no  other.  By  the  will  of  the  founder,  men  only 
are  its  trustees  and  governors.  It  is  a  trite  observation 
that  where  women's  colleges  and  educational  institutions 
have  taken  firm  root,  where  their  progress  has  been 
rapid,  and  at  the  same  time  solid,  both  initiation  and 
management  have  been  largely  in  the  hands  of  women 
themselves.  Men  have  helped  ungrudgingly,  but  only 
helped.  A  comparison  between  England  and  Germany 
is  here  worth  making.  The  direction  of  women's 
education  in  England  lies  mainly  in  the  hands  of 
women;   in  Germany  this  is  not   the   case,  and  it  is 


148  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

but  too  well  known  that  a  vivifying  influence  makes 
its  lack  plentifully  felt.  The  German  system  seems 
something  laid  on  women  instead  of  springing  from 
their  own  initiative,  warmed  by  their  own  energy.  Of 
course,  this  question  has  no  relation  to  the  need  and 
desirability  of  mixed  staffs,  which  are  used  in  all  the 
university  colleges,  or  colleges  of  university  rank,  for 
women,  both  in  England  and  Wales.  In  somes  cases 
the  staff  itself  is  not  mixed;  but  the  fact  that  students 
attend  the  classes  of  famous  lecturers  causes  the  differ- 
ence to  be  mainly  one  of  words. 


Share  of  Women  in  University  Colleges 

The  Victoria  University  has   three  constituent  col- 
leges:  Owens,  Manchester,  founded  in  1851;  Yorkshire 
College,  Leeds,  1874;  and  Liverpool 

Un^^ersity,  1880.  ^^^^^g^'  ^^^^-  ^^^  University  grants 
degrees;  each  college  makes  it  own 
regulations  and  teaching  arrangements.  There  are  now 
674  men  and  89  women  graduates  of  Victoria  University; 
81  are  graduates  in  arts,  6  in  science,  2  in  music.  The 
women  attend  convocation  on  exactly  the  same  condi- 
tions as  men.  They  are  practically  excluded  from  the 
medical  faculty,  which  adversely  affects  their  numbers. 
No  woman  has  yet  attempted  to  take  a  degree  in 
law. 

The  attitude  of  Owens  to  women  students  in  the  past 
can  hardly  be  styled  cordial.  It  was  expressly  founded 
to  instruct  and  improve  "young  persons  of  the  male 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  149 

sex."  Even  in  187 1,  when  it  obtained 
T  *     the  power  to  open  the  College  classes 

to  women,  it  carefully  protected  the 
young  male  person  by  its  famous  clause  :  "  conditionally 
upon  adequate  provision  having  been  made  for  the 
instruction  of  male  applicants."  It  has  never  opened 
its  medical  department  to  women,  though  law  and 
engineering  are  permitted  to  receive  them.  Numbers 
of  the  Owens  scholarships  are  for  men  only.  The 
numbers  of  men  students  are  11 96,  as  compared  with 
108  women.  Nowhere  else  can  be  remarked  so  striking 
a  disparity  in  the  proportions  of  the  sexes,  and  it 
is  difficult  to  account  for,  unless  the  attitude  of 
Owens  towards  women  in  past  days  is  a  sufficient 
explanation. 

The  Registrar  of  Victoria  University  states  that  at  one 
time  Manchester  women  went  to  Liverpool  College 
for  science  teaching.  Another  authority  observes  that 
only  one  did  so ;  but  even  if  this  be  so,  a  single  unit 
cannot  represent  the  amount  of  repression  and  dis- 
couragement which  women  must  have  suffered. 

A  women's  department  has,  however,  grown  up,  and 
in  course  of  time  even  Owens  has  gone  back  on  its 
exclusive  policy.  All  but  the  medical  classes  are  now 
open.  Owens  has  shewn  readiness  to  adopt  the 
University  Extension  system,  and  arranges  for  courses 
of  lectures,  to  both  sexes  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Manchester. 

The  Yorkshire  College,  Leeds,  in  its  memorandum  of 
association  undertakes  to  promote  the  education  of  both 


ISO         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

Yorkshire  sexes.     It  is  partly  an  outcome  of  the 

College,  Leeds,     University  Extension  movement,  and 

*^^  of  the  need  for  technical  instruction 

at  an  important  manufacturing  centre.  It  amalgamated 
with  the  Leeds  School  of  Medicine  in  1884.  Women 
are  admitted  to  this  school,  but  not  allowed  to  attend 
the  Leeds  Infirmary  for  clinical  instruction,  an  essential 
part  of  the  course  for  qualification,  so  that  practically 
the  medical  faculty  is  closed  to  women.  There  is  no 
separate  department  for  women;  both  sexes  attend  the 
same  classes.  The  total  number  of  students,  1896,  is, 
men,  840 ;  women,  143. 

Liverpool  College  co-operates  in  the  University  Exten- 
sion movement.  The  College  was  opened  in  1882  for 
Liverpool  ^^  instruction   of  the  "residents   of 

College,  Liverpool,"  amongst  whom  the  women 

incorporated  1881.  ^j.^  included.  They  enjoy  equally  with 
men  the  privileges  of  the  College,  attending  the  same 
lectures  and  classes,  with  the  exception  that  the  School 
of  Medicine  is  closed  to  them.  The  average  attendance 
for  each  of  the  three  terms  is  332,  of  whom  73  are 
women.  Liverpool  College  is  unfortunately  burdened 
with  a  rather  heavy  debt,  despite  its  Government  grant 
of  ;£i533  per  annum.  The  Council  are  averse  from 
effecting  economies  which  would  impair  efficiency. 

The  University  of  Wales  is  composed  of  three  con- 
stituent colleges,  formed  into  the  University  of  Wales 
in   1893.     The  colleges  are  Aberyst- 
Universityof  j^    founded  in    1872;   Cardiff,   in 

Wales    1803. 

'  1883;   and  Bangor,  in   1884.      Each 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  151 

college  receives  a  Government  subvention  of  jQ\ooo 
per  annum.  Before  the  University  of  Wales  received 
power  to  confer  its  own  degrees,  the  students  in  Welsh 
colleges  worked  successfully  for  the  degrees  of  London 
and  other  universities.  The  colleges  possess  equal  rights 
and  privileges ;  but  as  Aberystwyth  is  a  dozen  years 
older  than  the  others,  it  may  fairly  be  regarded  as  both 
pioneer  and  premier  college.  Men  and  women  are 
on  an  absolute  equality  as  regards  degrees,  entrance  to 
classes,  and,  what  is  equally  important,  social  life.  The 
governing  body  have,  moreover,  tried  the  experiment 
of  mixed  education ;  men  and  women,  staff  and  students 
alike,  meet  in  class-rooms,  share  in  debates,  entertain- 
ments, concerts,  with  excellent  results.  The  fees  have 
been  made  as  low  as  possible,  and  it  is  probably  owing 
to  this  fact  that  the  numbers  of  the  sexes  tend  to 
approximate.  In  October,  1896,  there  were  222  men 
and  153  women  students.  A  hall  of  residence, 
Alexandra  Hall,  capable  of  accommodating  150  women, 
was  opened  by  the  Princess  of  Wales  in  July,  1896; 
and  a  wing  to  accommodate  another  fifty  students  is  in 
contemplation.  Residence  in  hall  is  practically  com- 
pulsory for  the  women  students.  The  College  has  a 
strong  technical  side :  classes  are  conducted  in  scientific 
agriculture,  dairy  farming,  cookery,  and  so  forth.  The 
Council  have  thus  recognized  the  needs  of  the  country, 
and  adapted  the  College  to  them.  The  thorough 
education  afforded,  the  equality  on  which  the  sexes  are 
placed,  the  excellence  of  the  management  under  Miss 
E.  A.  Carpenter,  the  low  fees,  are  attracting  considerable 


152         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

numbers  of  Englishwomen.  In  the  Lent  term  of  1884 
there  was  one  woman  student  at  Aberystwyth;  now 
there  are  153. 

At  Cardiff,  an  important  engineering  department, 
women  reside  at  Aberdare  Hall,  and  are  admitted  to 
the  Medical  School.  Bangor,  which  has  an  agricultural 
department,  has  also  a  hostel  for  women.  The  course 
for  the  degrees  of  the  University  of  Wales  covers  three 
years;  the  first  matriculation  examination  was  held  in 
1895. 

Durham  University  was  founded  in  1831,  and  consists 
of  {a)  a  theological  school  at  Durham,  {B)  a  college  of 
medicine,   founded   in    1851   and   in- 
Universitv  corporated  with  the  University   1852, 

and  if)  a  college  of  science  at  New- 
castle, 187 1. 

In  1883  arose  the  question  of  granting  degrees  to 
women,  when  Convocation  unanimously  resolved  to 
confer  them.  The  growth  of  the  Newcastle  colleges 
in  the  new  buildings  erected  in  1887  and  1888,  the 
applications  for  the  admission  of  women  to  the  College 
of  Medicine,  made  the  matter  one  of  considerable  im- 
portance. In  June,  1893,  Miss  Ella  Bryant,  who  had 
passed  all  the  examinations  for  the  B.Sc.  degree  of  the 
University,  tendered  her  fee  for  the  degree.  It  was 
refused  until  a  supplementary  charter  could  be  obtained. 
The  new  charter  was  applied  for  almost  immediately 
afterwards,  and  granted  in  1895.  The  opening  of 
another  university  to  women  excited  hardly  any  atten- 
tion either  at  the  time  or  afterwards,  and  marks  the 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  153 

growth  of  the  sentiment  that  if  anything  is  closed  to 
women,  it  is  natural  that  it  should  be  opened.  The 
opening  of  the  degrees  does  not  extend  to  theology,  as, 
for  some  occult  reason,  the  British  people  regard  divinity 
as  a  purely  masculine  pursuit.  In  1892  a  vicar  of  the 
Church  of  England  at  Folkestone  proposed  to  with- 
draw from  various  committees  of  the  Church  Congress 
because  a  lady  was  announced  to  address  it.  Only  the 
fatherly  guidance  of  the  Bishop  of  Dover  prevented  him 
carrying  out  this  threat. 

It  may  fairly  be  said  that  the  opening  of  these 
degrees  is  due  to  the  growth  and  flourishing  condition 
of  the  Newcastle  colleges.  The  numbers,  July  1896, 
are  as  follows  : — 

Men.  Women. 

College  of  Medicine         ...        220        ...  2 

College  of  Science            ...        306        ...  198 
(exclusive  of  evening  students). 

As  usual,  a  majority  of  women  take  the  arts  classes  in 
the  College  of  Science.  Several  women  students  are 
now  working  to  obtain  degrees.  The  Principal  of  the 
College  of  Science  writes :  "  We  have  reason  to  believe 
that  we  have  solved  the  problem  of  woman's  education 
in  a  satisfactory  manner.  We  have  opened  everything 
to  women,  without  a  single  exception."  This  includes 
the  B.Mus.  and  D.Mus. 

Mason  College  was  founded  by  Sir  Josiah  Mason  in 
1875,  and  formally  opened  in  1880.  It  is  one  of  eleven 
Mason  College,  university  colleges  which  share  in  the 
Birmingham,  Government    grant   of  ;^  15,000   per 

'^^5-  annum.      The    deed    of     foundation 


154         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

only  provided  for  scientific  instruction,  but  the  scheme 
was  extended  to  embrace  medicine  and  the  arts.  This 
wide  curriculum  is  one  that  best  suits  women's  interests, 
and  accordingly  we  find  their  numbers  very  large.  Out 
of  a  total  of  690  students  for  1895-96,  323  are  women. 
Birmingham  is  one  of  the  most  advanced  educational 
centres  in  England  j  the  Royal  Education  Commissioners 
{1894-95)  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  demand 
for  Secondary  Education  for  girls  was  practically  the 
same  as  for  boys  in  this  city.  There  are  day  training 
departments  for  elementary  teachers  of  both  sexes 
attached  to  Mason  College,  and  the  Council  are  now 
erecting  buildings  to  accommodate  90  women  teachers. 
Women  are  prepared  for  the  Preliminary  Scientific 
Examinations  (M.B.)  of  London  University,  but  the 
Medical  Faculty  is  closed  to  them.  On  inquiry  as  to 
the  reason,  the  Secretary  replies  that  exclusion  is  due 
to  custom  and  want  of  accommodation. 

Nottingham  University  College  is  largely  a  result  of 
the  University  Extension  movement,  and,  as  might  be 
Nottingham  expected,    makes    no    distinction    of 

University  religion,    as    many    colleges    proudly 

College,  1880.         boasts    ^j.   ^f  gg^.      There    are    1580 

individual  students,  the  sexes  tending  to  approximate  in 
numbers.  The  College  has  been  extended  to  meet  the 
needs  of  this  great  army  of  students.  Its  governing  body 
is  largely  composed  of  town  councillors,  the  Corporation 
having,  indeed,  built  the  College,  the  condition  on 
which  it  received  an  endowment  of  ;£"i 0,000.  Much 
of  its  work  is  of  a  technical  character,  and  it  receives 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  155 

a  grant   for    this    purpose    from    the    Local   Taxation 
Surplus  (Customs  and  Excise  Duties  Act),  1890. 

Firth  College  was  founded  in  1879  by  Mr.  Mark 
Firth,  and  was  originally  intended  as  a  hall  and  lecture- 
rooms  for  the  work  of  the  University 
Sheffield  '  Extension  movement.  It  required  to 
be  extended  in  1892,  and  arrange- 
ments are  now  completed  for  extending  it  once  more 
by  means  of  an  art  department.  It  has  besides  recently 
taken  over  a  medical  school,  an  old-standing  institution 
of  the  town ;  this  is  closed  to  women,  although  the 
objects  of  the  College  state  that  "its  doors  are  open 
to  all,  without  distinction  of  sex  or  class."  Like 
Nottingham,  Firth  College  provides  higher  education 
by  university  methods,  and  by  a  system  of  technical 
instruction  makes  special  provision  for  local  wants.  It  is 
partly  rate-supported  under  the  Technical  Instruction 
Act  of  1889,  and  receives  funds  from  the  Local  Taxation 
Act,  as  well  as  a  Government  grant.  The  total  number 
of  individual  students  is  325,  of  whom  88  are  women. 
Both  Nottingham  and  Firth  Colleges  have  day  training 
colleges  for  men  and  women  teachers,  and  earn  the 
grants  of  the  Education  Department. 

Bristol  College  was  founded  to  promote  the  education 
of  both  sexes;  it  closes  its  medical  school  to  women. 

Besides   78   medical   students   it   has 
Bristol  College,        ^  /         .  ,       . 

jgyg^  464  students  m  arts  and  science,  of 

whom  238  are  men,  166  women,  and 

60  women  in  a  day  training  department.     It  shares  in 

the  Government  grant,  and  has  an  annual  sum  from 


156         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

the  Town  Council  for  free  studentships,  under  the 
Customs  and  Excise  Act,  1890. 

The  condition  of  the  universities  during  the  first 
half  of  the  century  illustrates  the  tendency  of  wealthy 
University  corporations   to    grow   narrow,    exclu- 

Extension  sive,    inert.     In    ancient    records    we 

movement.  ^^g  struck  by  the  tacit  assumption  that 

a  university  student  is  necessarily  poor;  in  the  more 
modern  records  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  the  assump- 
tion has  been  that  a  student  ought  to  be  wealthy,  and 
that  the  universities  existed  for  the  wealthy.  The 
foundation  of  two  modern  universities  —  London  in 
1826  (charter  bestowed  in  1836),  and  Durham  in  1832 
— formed  a  strong  protest  against  the  exclusiveness  of 
the  ancient  universities.  Happily,  the  latter  perceived 
the  danger  that  threatened  them.  In  1845  Oxford 
received  an  address  begging  the  Hebdomadal  Board 
to  adopt  measures  for  the  admission  of  a  poorer 
class  to  the  University;  the  petitioners  even  offered 
assistance  in  money.*  The  Oxford  University  Com- 
mission of  1850  discussed  four  out  of  seven  schemes  of 
University  Extension  laid  before  it.  Arthur  Clough 
and  Mark  Pattison  argued  that  there  must  be  a  gradual, 
sure,  and  large  extension  of  the  benefits  of  university 
teaching.  "  I  look  for  the  extension  of  the  university 
to  the  poor,"  said  one  advocate.  "  Though  it  may  be 
impossible  to  bring  the  masses  requiring  education  to 
the  university,"  wrote  Mr.  Sewell  to  the  Vice-Chancellor 

*  See  University  Extension :  Fast,  Fresent,  and  Future.  By 
H.  J.  Mackinder  and  M.  E.  Sadler. 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  157 

of  Oxford  in  1850,  "may  it  not  be  possible  to  carry 
the  university  to  them?"  And  then,  on  paper,  he 
worked  out  details  of  an  extension  scheme.  The 
universities  ruminated  on  the  idea  for  17  years. 
Possibly,  the  period  would  have  been  longer,  but  a 
convinced  believer  in  the  democratization  of  the  uni- 
versities, Professor  James  Stuart,  received  an  invitation 
to  lecture  to  audiences  of  women  from  the  North  of 
England  Council  for  Promoting  the  Higher  Education 
of  Women.  Mrs.  Josephine  Butler  was  the  President 
of  the  Association ;  Miss  A.  J.  Clough,  the  Secretary. 
In  1867  Professor  Stuart  gave  courses  of  eight  lectures 
in  four  great  Northern  towns;  he  made  a  great  point 
that  they  should  form  a  course,  as  he  had  been  "  vexed 
with  the  insufficiency  of  the  single  lecture  system." 
Professor  Stuart  also  introduced  the  syllabus  and  weekly 
papers,  which  are  still  features  of  the  University  Ex- 
tension scheme.  In  the  same  year  he  invented  the 
"  class  "  at  Rochdale,  an  adjunct  to  the  lecture  intended 
for  further  explanation  of  the  subject  to  an  audience  of 
working-men.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  University 
Extension  movement  as  we  now  know  it.  In  1871 
Professor  Stuart  addressed  an  important  letter  on  the 
subject  to  resident  members  of  Cambridge  University; 
the  following  year  a  syndicate  was  appointed  to  consider 
the  matter.  Professor  Stuart  had  a  ready  answer  for 
every  conceivable  objection,  so  that,  in  1873,  the  new 
Scheme  adopted  scheme  was  formally  adopted.  Mean- 
by  Cambridge,  time,  lectures  had  been  given  in  several 
^^73-  towns  to   both  sexes.     In    1876   the 


158  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

London  University  Extension  was  formed  to  meet  the 
special  needs  of  the  metropolis.  In  1878  Oxford  began 
to  organize  her  share  in  the  movement,  a  share  which 
has  grown  to  be  very  large.  During  the  session  1894-95 
Cambridge  University  local  lectures  have  been  attended 
by  10,300  students;  Oxford  by  about  30,000;  London 
by  14,200  (students  may  be  counted  more  than  once 
in  these  figures,  according  to  the  number  of  courses 
taken  by  them).  The  number  has  rather  decreased 
of  recent  years,  partly  because  other  universities, 
Durham  and  Victoria,  have  taken  up  the  work;  partly 
because  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  subsequent  to  1890, 
had  a  considerable  share  of  the  work  now  done  by 
County  and  Borough  Councils  in  technical  instruction ; 
and  partly  because  of  the  astonishing  growth  of  pro- 
vincial colleges  in  large  towns,  of  polytechnics,  and 
similar  institutions.  Natural  development  has  thus 
somewhat  limited  the  field  of  University  Extension  in 
towns  where  education  is  appreciated.  The  field  is 
still  very  large;  but  a  movement  of  this  kind  depends 
greatly  upon  local  initiative.  Many  fair- sized  towns 
care  nothing  about  higher,  and  little 

.  ...  ,.  about  any  other   sort   of   education, 

initiative.  ^ 

Officials  connected  with  the  move- 
ment are  never  weary  of  declaring  how  much  it  owes 
to  local  secretaries  and  committees ;  many  of  the 
secretaries  are  women,  who  throw  themselves  into  the 
work  with  characteristic  energy  and  enthusiasm. 
Authorities  variously  estimate  the  proportions  of  women 
to  men  attending  the  lectures  at   from  three-fifths  to 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  159 

two-thirds.  It  is  worth  noting  that  the  sexes  are 
scarcely  drawn  from  the  same  class :  there  is  a  tendency 
for  the  women  to  be  sisters  of  university  men,  and  for 
the  men  to  belong  to  a  non-university  class.  Oxford  and 
London  have  both  shown  readiness  to  employ  women  as 
lecturers,  which  has  been  done  to  a  small  extent.  In 
this  the  Extension  Societies  are  really  in  advance  of 
public  opinion.  Mr.  M.  E.  Sadler,  late  Secretary  to  the 
University  Extension  Delegacy,  Oxford,  writes  apropos 
of  this  :  "  There  is  no  part  of  our  work  in  which  many 
of  us  take  a  greater  satisfaction  than  these  efforts  to 
pioneer  and  to  influence  opinion  as  regards  the  employ- 
ment of  women."  The  subjects  of  the  lectures  cover  a 
wide  range,  including  natural  science,  history,  literature, 
economics,  architecture;  at  some  centres  arrangements 
are  made  for  studying  languages  and  mathematics. 
Oxford  inclines  to  courses  of  six  lectures ;  London,  ten ; 
Cambridge,  twelve.  Speaking  of  the  six-lecture  course 
at  the  University  Extension  Congress,  in  1894,  Professor 
Jebb  wittily  remarked,  "Cambridge  keeps  the  article,  but 
does  not  recommend  it."  The  advocates  of  the  smaller 
course  may  be  said  to  have  popularity,  of  the  larger, 
higher  educational  value,  on  their  side. 

Further  developments  of  the  movement  are  travelling 
libraries,  composed  of  books  recommended  by  the 
lecturer;  students'  associations,  affording  help  and  a 
degree  of  continuity;  important  summer  meetings  at 
both  the  universities,  where  hundreds  of  students, 
including  many  teachers,  assemble  for  brief  summer 
courses;    and    lastly,    a   scheme   of  affiliation    to    the 


i6o         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

universities  themselves.  The  Cambridge  summer 
meeting  of  1896  was  attended  by  about  500;  in 
1896  Oxford  had  as  summer  guests  some  653  persons, 
about  four-fifths  of  whom  were  women. 

The  affiliation  scheme  is  an  attempt  to  secure 
sequence  in  the  work,  since  some  of  the  critics  of 
Students  ^^  University   Extension    movement 

affiliated  to  the  dwell  upon  the  lack  of  system  and 
University.  continuity.      Centres   that   affiliate   to 

the  university  take  three  years'  {i.e.  six  terms')  courses 
in,  say,  history,  or  some  group  of  allied  subjects, 
besides  two  terms'  work  in,  say,  natural  science.  But 
the  sequences,  though  their  educational  value  is  high, 
tend  to  alienate  many  students;  and  the  finance  of 
a  centre  suffers  by  them.  Students  in  sequence  courses 
may  style  themselves  students  affiliated  to  the  university, 
and  have  their  three  years'  residence  at  a  university 
remitted  to  two  years.  Cambridge  has  quite  recently 
remodelled  its  examination  system.  For  the  future  the 
sessional  certificate  will  cover  the  work  of  two  terms,  the 
system  previously  adopted  by  the  London  University 
Extension  Society. 

A  further  development  of  the  University  Extension 
movement  is  the  rise  of  three  colleges,  at  Reading  and 
Exeter,  in  close  connection,  the  former  with  the  Oxford 
the  latter  with  the  Cambridge  movement.  A  third  has 
just  been  founded  at  Colchester. 

The  University  Extension  College  at  Reading  was 
founded  in  1892,  and  incorporated  in  1896.  It  was 
formed  by  an  amalgamation  of  the  Local   University 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  i6i 

University  Extension  Association  with  the  schools 

Extension  of  science  and  art,  and   is   therefore 

College,  Reading,  ^^ganized  in  four  departments :  (i) 
Natural  Science,  (2)  Literary  and  Normal,  (3) 
Agricultural,  (4)  Fine  and  Applied  Art.  The  College 
is  recognized  by  the  Education  Department  and  Science 
and  Art  Department.  It  is  an  interesting  attempt  to 
co-ordinate  and  manage,  from  one  central  governing 
body,  with  committees,  a  wide  scheme  of  education. 
The  College  has  about  600  students  attending  its 
various  courses,  and  is  under  the  wing  of  the  Oxford 
Delegacy.  Every  class  in  the  College,  and  every  society, 
is  open  to  men  and  women  without  distinction ;  women 
also  sit  on  the  governing  body. 

A  similar  and  equally  successful  college  is  at  work  at 
Exeter,  with  a  technical  department,  art  department, 
E  t  T  h  'cal  ^^^  *^^  usual  work  of  the  University 
and  University  Extension  movement.  The  College  is 
Extension  a    municipalized    institution,    with    a 

College.  Council  representing  the  chief  educa- 

tional bodies  of  the  town,  besides  9  members  of  the  City 
Council.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  University  Extension 
movement  has  so  far  received  no  State  aid,  which  is  a 
source  of  disappointment.  It  is,  of  course,  a  well-known 
fact  that  university  chests  exist  in  a  state  of  depletion. 
Yet  some  of  the  colleges  are  very  wealthy,  especially 
Christ  Church,*  Magdalen,  Trinity,  St.  John's.*  With 
the    exception   of   Christ    Church    and    Baliol,   which 

*  See  note  pp.  123-4  for  one  source  whence  the  endowment  of 
these  colleges  was  obtained. 

M 


i62  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

presented  the  services  of  a  fellow  to  the  Reading  College, 
they  seem  to  have  done  very  little  for  the  movement. 
Reasonably  they  might  be  expected  to  assist  it,  for,  so 
far  from  the  numbers  of  undergraduates  suffering  by 
the  movement,  as  was  feared  when  Professor  James 
Stuart  addressed  his  famous  letter  to  the  members  of 
Cambridge  University,  they  have  doubled.  Whereas 
Increase  in  ^^^  undergraduates  of  both  universities 

numbers  of  numbered  only  some  3000  in  the  early 

Undergraduates,  p^rt  of  the  century,  they  now  number 
6153,  or  6557  if  we  venture  to  count  the  women  in 
residence.  Miss  Montgomery,  to  whose  organizing 
ability  much  of  the  success  of  Exeter  College  is  due, 
published  a  very  interesting  article  *  upon  "  The  Oppor- 
tunity of  the  Universities,"  in  which  she  points  out  that 
their  real  interests  coincide  with  Extension,  and  that  en- 
couragement might  assume  the  form  of  a  few  fellowships. 
The  movement  is  largely  of  a  missionary  nature, 
and  where  it  is  most  successful,  it  appears  to  end  in 
a  college  at  important  centres  of  population.  From 
this  one  might  argue  that  University  Extension,  as  we 
now  think  of  it,  is  not  meant  to  live  long.  But  this 
is  taking  too  optimistic  a  view  of  the  average  state  of 
education  throughout  the  country.  One  may  safely 
affirm  that  the  harvest  truly  is  great,  and  much  of 
it  has  still  to  be  garnered. 

The  lack  of  colleges  in  out-of-the-way  places,  and  the 
necessity  for  a  certain  amount  of  individual  attention, 
are  amongst  the  causes  which  have  led  to  the  establish- 
*  In  the  Oxford  University  Extension  Gazette^  December,  1894. 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  163 

University  ment    of    University    correspondence 

Examination  classes.      They  are   chiefly  used   for 

Posta  Insti  ution.  preparation  for  certain  examinations. 
They  were  founded  in  1882  by  an  association  of  tutors, 
to  educate  students  on  University  lines  by  means  of 
correspondence.  Another  set  of  correspondence  classes 
arose  in  1891,  under  the  name  of  the  University 
Examination  Postal  Institution;  in  1894  it  amalga- 
mated with  the  original  correspondence  classes,  under 
the  newer  name.  Tuition  by  correspondence  does  not 
allow  of  the  personal  contact  of  teacher  and  pupil,  nor 
does  it  readily  admit  of  the  latter  at  once  seeking  aid 
in  the  difficulties  he  meets ;  yet  it  has  considerable 
advantages  of  its  own,  especially  from  the  point  of 
examination  successes.  The  pupil  learns  to  express 
herself,  and  has  the  benefit  of  an  able  tutor's 
hektographed  notes.  The  Postal  Institution  for  1895- 
96  had  300  students,  of  whom  three-fourths  were 
women,  chiefly  working  for  the  Cambridge  Higher 
Local,  the  examinations  of  London  University,  and 
teachers'  certificates. 

The  leviathan  correspondence  institution  is  the 
University  Correspondence  College  founded  in  1887, 
University  which  prepares  specially,  but  not  en- 

Correspondence  tirely,  for  the  examinations  of  London 
College.  University.     Every    year    the    college 

has  hundreds  of  successful  candidates  at  these  examina- 
tions; in  1894-95,  they  numbered  777,  of  whom  about 
a  fourth  were  women.  There  are  also  excellent 
correspondence  classes  at  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow. 


Section  IV. 
TLccMico^pvotcsBioml  iBMcation 

I.  The  Training  of  Teachers 

We    are    indebted    to    the    primary    system    of    the 

country  for  the  idea  that  the  teacher  must  be  trained. 

,  „.  The   first   trace   of  training  is  found 

(a)  Elementary.       .      ,  ,  ,   .       ,  , 

m  the  systems  advocated  m  the  end 

of  the  last  century  by  Dr.  Andrew  Bell,  when  teaching 

the  boys  of  a  military  orphan  asylum   near   Madras, 

and  by  Joseph  Lancaster,  who,  about  the  same  time, 

was  teaching  very  successfully  crowds  of  poor  children 

in    the    Borough    Road,    London.      Both    men  were 

educational  reformers  of  their  day,  and  both  claimed 

to   be  the  inventors  of  the  monitorial  system,  which 

was  simply  setting  the  elder  scholars 
The  Monitorial  ,      ,  ,  ^ 

System  ^°  teach   the  rest.     Lancaster  seems 

to  have  been  genuinely  enthusiastic, 
and  success  attended  his  efforts.  Powerful  patrons, 
amongst  them  George  IIL  and  the  Duke  of  Bedford, 
came  to  his  aid,  so  that  in  1804  he  was  able  to  open 
a  new  building,  consisting  of  a  large  house  and  school- 
room in  Belvedere  Place,  Borough  Road.  Lancaster 
issued  pamphlets  on  how  to  teach  10,000  children  to 
read  in  three  months. 

164 


TECHNICO -PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       165 

The  weak  spot  of  his  system,  in  vogue  for  almost 
half  a  century,  was  its  constant  change.  In  1846  the 
Committee  of  Council  remedied  this  defect  by  intro- 
ducing the  pupil  teacher  system,  as  a  development  and 
improvement  on  the  monitorial  system.  The  idea 
was  borrowed  from  Holland.     At  the  age  of  thirteen  or 

fourteen,  children  were  apprenticed  to 
jg^  '     the  head  teacher,  usually  for  five  years, 

and  were  paid  for  the  first  year's  service 
;^io,  rising  to  ;^2o  for  the  last  year.  Head  teachers 
were  responsible  for  the  training  of  the  pupil  teachers 
out  of  school  hours,  and  received  a  jQt,  or  ^4  bonus 
for  each  one  who  passed  her  yearly  examination 
satisfactorily.  For  years  large  numbers  of  schools  were 
staffed  merely  by  a  head  teacher,  her  pupil  teachers, 
and  perhaps  an  assistant;  quite  a  young  child  would 
be  given  40  children  to  teach.  Usually  she  learned 
the  lesson  of  keeping  her  regiment  in  order,  having, 
indeed,  little  else  to  teach  her  charges.  Shortly 
before  the  introduction  of  the  pupil  teacher  system, 
in  1839-40,  the  first  training  college  had  been 
founded  at  Battersea  in  connection  with  the  Church 
of  England.  In  its  early  days  the  Committee  of 
Council  used  to  make  building  grants  for  the  erection 
of  schools,  a  policy  it  completely  abandoned  later  on ; 
in  1843  we  find  it  affording  aid  for  the  erection  of 
training  colleges,  and  soon  the  movement  was  in  full 
swing,  especially  after  the  Council  began  to  make 
quite  a  handsome  payment  of  ;^2o  or  £2^  for  each 
pupil  teacher  who   passed  an  examination  known  as 


i66         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

the  Queen's  Scholarship  Examination,  requiring  her,  if 
successful,  to  enter  a  training  college  for  a  two  years' 
course.  The  sects  vied  with  each  other  in  emulation 
of  the  custom  of  intending  teachers,  and  by  1887 
there  were  in  England  44  residential  training  colleges, 
of  which  30  were  connected  with  the  Church  of 
England.  To  this  day  the  Education  Department 
does  not  possess  a  single  Government  training  college ; 
it  merely  subsidizes  sectarian  institutions,  which  are  for 
the  most  part  connected  with  religious  bodies,  maintain- 
ing a  hold  over  them  by  means  of  money  grants  and 
inspection.  Amongst  the  best  of  the  colleges  for 
women  subsidized  by  the  Education  Department  are 
those  of  Oxford,  Stockwell,  Tottenham,  and  Edgehill. 

An  immense  army  of  elementary  teachers  is  working 
Proportion  of  the  under  the  Education  Dept.  Certificated, 
Sexes  engaged  provisionally  certificated,  assistant  and 
in  Teaching.  additional  teachers  number : 


Women 
Men      . 

pypiL 

1896 
.     66,310        ... 
.     26,270 

1876 
14,901 
11,616 

Total 

Girls      . 
Boys 

.     92,580 

TEACHERS.* 

1896 
.     26,757 
.        7,245 

26,517 

1876 
19,436 
11,102 

Total  .         .     34,002         ...         30,538 

*  An  official  announcement  was  made  on  January  12th,  1897, 
that  the  Lord  President  of  the  Council,  the  Duke  of  Devonshire, 
has  appointed  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  working  of  the 
pupil-teacher  system  in  England  and  Wales.  Of  its  ten  members, 
three  are  women. 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       167 

The  difference  in  the  numbers  of  pupil  teachers  is 
not  so  great  as  in  the  case  of  adult  teachers,  but  the 
altered  proportion  of  the  sexes  is  most  striking. 

The  following  tables  show  that  a  higher  percentage 
of  trained  teachers  is  to  be  found  among  men  than 
among  women.  The  report  refers  to  14,275  schools 
examined  in  a  year  previous  to  1895  : 


MEN 

WOMEN. 

per  cent. 

per  cent. 

Trained  for  two  years 

.     67-26 

47-04 

Trained  for  less  than  two  years 

.      3' 53 

2-19 

Untrained  . 

.     29-21 

5077 

Studying  in  the  44  different  residential  training 
colleges  we  find  3,492  individuals,  of  whom  2,269  are 
Numbers  of  ^"  colleges  connected  with  the  Church 

Students  in  of  England;  888  are  to  be  found  in 

Training  Colleges,  the  14  day  training  colleges,  which 
have  recently  sprung  up  in  various  towns.  These 
colleges  are  strictly  unsectarian,  and  their  comparatively 
rapid  increase  is  significant.  They  are  connected  with 
the  Welsh  colleges,  the  colleges  of  Victoria  University, 
Firth  College,  London  University,  King's  College,  the 
Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  Mason  College, 
Nottingham  University  College,  Bristol  and  other 
colleges.  The  supply  of  trained  teachers  is  not  equal 
to  the  demand,  and  everything  seems  to  point  to  the 
necessity  of  the  Department  taking  up  the  work  itself, 
at  least  to  some  extent. 

It  is  admitted  on  all  hands  that  what  the  student  of 
an    elementary   training  college  knows,   that    she   can 


i68  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

usually  teach.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  urged  that 
the  culture  of  the  students  is  very  narrow;  even  one 
foreign  language  is  not  obligatory  upon  students  in 
training  colleges,  though  a  majority  of  the  women 
take  French. 

The  Education  Department  draws  a  most  singular 
distinction  between  the  cost  of  a  man's  education  in  a 
training  college  and  a  woman's.  It  pays  for  the  educa- 
tion of  a  man  J[^^q>  per  annum  to  his  college;  for  a 
woman,  £^i%.  This  is  as  if  the  Department  assessed 
the  value  of  the  sexes  thus : 

MAN.  WOMAN. 

I  7 

If  this  is  really  their  respective  values,  it  is  certainly 
incompatible  with  a  high  and  generous  educational 
Question  of  the  policy  to  use  the  services  of  women 
Teachers'  pay;  so  largely  as  the  Department  does. 
Men  and  Women  xhis  rate  of  pay  would  seem  to  be 
maintained  throughout,  for  if  we  turn 
to  the  average  salaries  of  a  master  and  mistress,  we  shall 
find  that  of  the  former  to  be  ;£i2  2  6s.  7d. ;  the  latter, 
;£8i  3s.  3d.  It  is  sometimes  stated  that  women  need 
to  retire  earlier  from  the  teaching  profession  than  men 
do.  The  "waste"  in  women  teachers  is  undoubtedly 
greater  than  in  men ;  the  Department  loses  of  its  trained 
teachers  4  per  cent,  men,  6|-  women.  Women  could 
hardly  therefore  reasonably  expect  exactly  the  same  pay 
as  men;  if  they  must  retire  earlier,  they  would  need 
to  take  a  less  reward.  But  it  is  doubtful  whether  School 
Boards,   managers,   and    all    those   who    pay  teachers. 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       169 

accepting  the  assessment  of  the  Department  for  the 
training  colleges,  have  hit  upon  the  right  proportion 
in  giving  a  third  less  pay  to  women,  especially  as  women 
often  prepare  sewing  in  their  leisure,  instead  of  enjoying 
reasonable  recreation.  School  Boards  and  other  em- 
ployers of  teachers  in  this  respect  treat  women  as  if 
they  were  stronger  than  men.  Men's  better  physique 
allows  them  to  work  in  a  far  greater  proportion  in  the 
evening  continuation  schools,  for  which  of  course  they 
are  paid  extra.  We  are  certainly  in  great  need  of 
comparative  health  tables,  shewing  what  the  difference 
between  the  sexes  actually  amounts  to.  Women  have 
suffered  far  too  much  in  the  past  by  guesses  at  their 
inefficiency  in  one  field  and  another,  on  which  are  based 
regulations  affecting  their  well-being. 

Yet  poor  as  we  may  think  women's  payment  to-day, 
there  is  little  doubt  that  it  is  steadily  improving.  The 
Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  which 
sat  upon  the  education  of  the  poorer  classes  in  1838, 
elicited  some  curious  information  under  this  head.  The 
Rev.  James  Cotton  Wigram  stated  in  his  evidence  that 
the  National  Society  had  men  and  women,  between 
twenty-two  and  thirty  years  of  age,  training  for  teachers 
in  the  Society's  schools.  It  paid  the  men  los.  6d. 
weekly  for  giving  instruction  after  they  had  proved  their 
competence,  whereas  the  women  got  nothing  at  all  but  a 
small  gratuity  on  leaving.  They  had  to  pay  for  their 
own  board  whilst  teaching. 

As  is  shewn  later,  the  Science  and  Art  Department 
undertakes  the  inspection  of  the  drawing  of  students 


I70  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

The  Science  in    training    colleges.      They    receive 

and  Art  credit  for  passing  in  the  Department's 

epar  men  .  examinations  in  science,  women  chiefly 

affecting  such  subjects  as  physiology,  botany,  physio- 
graphy, and  hygiene.  Their  total  number  of  science 
passes  obtained  in  the  previous  May,  for  which  they 
received  credit  at  the  Christmas  examination,  1895,  was 
1498,  as  compared  with  855  men.  Colleges  are  begin- 
ning to  attach  more  importance  to  physical  training 
than  ever  before,  but  are  still  largely  indifferent  to 
recreation  for  women,  even  although  the  means  of 
recreation  is  provided.  There  is  probably  a  good  deal 
of  truth  in  the  accusation,  that  women  in  training 
colleges,  both  in  England  and  abroad,  are  overworked  j 
they  have  too  often  that  appearance.  The  importance 
to  their  future  career  of  a  good  place  in  their  final 
examinations,  the  fact  that  women  who  are  in  training 
are  at  a  delicate  age,  that  almost  immediately  after 
they  leave  college  they  take  up  responsible  work 
where  they  must  shew  their  value,  all  go  to  prove 
the  desirability  of  slackening  competition,  of  giving, 
in  colleges  subsidized  by  Government,  the  highest  grant 
only  where  physique  is  good. 

{U)  Training  for  Secondary  Teachers 

Training  for  secondary  teachers  directly  resulted  from 
primary  training.  Women  are  leading  in  this  branch  of 
The  Home  and  education,  and  it  is  credibly  stated 
Colonial  School  that  this  is  the  only  branch  in  which 
Society,  1836.  t^ey     do     lead.      The     Home     and 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       171 

Colonial  School  Society,  which  was  founded  to  give 
effect  to  the  views  of  Pestalozzi,  especially  as  regards 
the  teaching  of  infants,  first  began  to  train  infant 
teachers  for  elementary  schools  in  1836,  and  then 
extended  the  training  to  nursery  governesses  and 
teachers  of  secondary  schools.  For  more  than  thirty 
years  this  Society  was  the  only  body  offering  secondary 
teachers  any  sort  of  training.  These  latter  students, 
numbering  about  forty,  used  to  practise  in  elementary 
day  schools.  In  particular,  a  considerable  number  of 
teachers  for  mission  schools  were  at  one  time  trained  in 
the  college  in  Gray's  Inn  Road.  In  1895,  the  non- 
Government  department  removed  to  Highbury  Hill 
House,  as  a  secondary  and  kindergarten  training  college 
for  women  teachers,  where  students  have  now  a 
secondary  school  in  which  to  practise.  It  still  remains 
a  branch  of  the  Home  and  Colonial  School  Society. 

The  Maria  Grey  was  really  the  first  training  college 
in  the  field,  an  outcome  of  the  energy  of  the  Teachers' 
Maria  Grey  Training    and     Registration    Society. 

Training  College,  The  Society  was  formed  in  1877, 
^^78.  largely  as  a  result   of  the   efforts   of 

Mrs.  Wm.  Grey,  and  her  sister.  Miss  Shirreff.  Next 
year  the  training  college  was  opened  at  Bishopsgate  in 
connection  with  a  middle-class  girls'  school,  which  the 
Rev.  Wm.  Rogers  placed  at  its  disposal.  It  removed  to 
Fitzroy  Street  in  1885,  and  to-day  the  training  college 
and  a  high  school  have  admirable  premises  in  the  same 
building  at  Brondesbury,  with  Miss  Woods  as  principal. 
The  college  is  non-residential;  its  work  divides  into 


172         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

three  parts,  lower,  higher,  and  kindergarten.  The 
Council  of  the  Teachers'  Training  and  Registration, 
recognizing  how  much  women's  education  suffers  by 
lack  of  endowment,  have  often  rendered  assistance  in 
money  to  earnest  students  in  need  of  it;  the  members 
are  justly  proud  that,  although  under  no  obligation  to 
do  so,  women  who  have  benefited  by  it  have  in  some 
cases  refunded  the  money,  unasked,  in  order  that 
others  might  reap  the  same  advantage. 

The  establishment  of  the  Cambridge  Teachers' 
Certificate  Examination  in  1878  has  given  an  un- 
The  Cambridge  doubted  stimulus  to  the  training  of 
Teachers'  Train-  teachers,  at  least  among  women ;  most 
ing  Syndicate,  training  colleges,  or  training  depart- 
ments in  connection  with  colleges,  aim 
at  this  diploma  for  their  students.  The  certificates  of 
the  Teachers'  Training  Syndicate  are  now  held  by  50 
men  and  941  women.  The  Secretary  of  the  Syndicate 
reports  a  gradual  increase  of  numbers  both  among  men 
and  women.  The  examination  instituted  by  the 
Syndicate  covers  the  history,  theory,  and  practice  of 
education,  and  is  intended  for  persons  who  have  pre- 
viously shewn  intellectual  qualifications  in  passing  one 
of  several  specified  University  examinations. 

It  was  reserved  for  a  younger  and  sister  College  of  the 
Maria  Grey  to  boldly  plant  itself  in  a  University  town. 
Cambridge  Train-  I^^  ^iss  Ridley's  Frances  Mary  Buss 
ing  College  for  she  tells  us  how  Miss  Buss  was  wishful 
Women,  1885.         ^^  j^^^g  ^j^^  j^^j.j^  Qj^ey  associated  with 

the  North  London  Collegiate  School,  when  it  became  a 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       173 

question  of  removing  the  College  from  Bishopsgate. 
This  fell  through;  but  seeing  how  the  students  of 
Girton  and  Newnham  entered  the  teaching  profession 
by  the  hundred  without  training,  Miss  Buss,  Mrs. 
Bryant,  and  a  number  of  educationists,  both  men  and 
women,  determined  that  there  should  be  a  training 
college  at  the  very  gates  of  the  University.  The 
College  began  its  work  in  some  cottages  near  Newnham, 
and  finally  removed  to  a  commodious  and  suitable 
building  in  1895.  It  trains  sixty  students  for  one  year; 
they  obtain  their  practice  in  some  fourteen  elementary 
and  secondary  schools,  with  about  1700  pupils.  Miss 
E.  P.  Hughes,  herself  a  distinguished  student  of 
Newnham,  is  the  principal.  The  Council  rightly  attach 
great  importance  to  the  year's  residence  at  Cambridge ; 
for  though  the  Universities  can  hardly  be  called 
effusive  or  eager  when  a  new  development  arises,  yet 
Cambridge  has  rendered  excellent  service  to  the  cause 
of  training  teachers,  and  there  are  substantial  advan- 
tages to  be  reaped  by  residence  in  the  town. 

Miss  Beale,  of  Cheltenham,  early  recognized  the 
necessity  for  training  women  as  secondary  teachers. 
Training  Since   1885   the   Ladies'  College   has 

Department  at  the  had  a  definite  training  department, 
Ladies'  College,     the    students    boarding   at    a    hostel, 

Cheltenham.  c     tt-u  »  j  •  •  n     .u  • 

bt.   Hildas,   and   receivmg   all    their 

instruction  at  the  College.     There  are  two  divisions  in 

the  training  department:    (a)   Some  fifteen  secondary 

teachers,   under  Miss  Louch,   almost  all  working  for 

the    Cambridge  Teachers'  Certificate;    {b)   A  kinder- 


174  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

garten    department,    under    Miss   Welldon,    in    which 

fifty  students  prepare  for  the  Higher  Froebel  Certificate. 

Practice  is  obtained  in  the  College,  and  in  neighbouring 

schools,  especially    the  Kindergarten  at  St.  Stephen's, 

managed  entirely  by  Miss  Welldon.      At  St.   Hilda's, 

twenty  foundationers  are  accepted  for  training  on  lower 

terms,  with  the  proviso  that  they  devote  themselves  to 

teaching.     These  are,  practically,  scholarships  given  to 

those  who  require  them  most,  or  will  use  them  to  the 

best  advantage. 

The   Datchelor  Training    College  is   in   connection 

with  the  Mary  Datchelor  School  for  Girls,  Camberwell, 

of   which  it   is  an  outgrowth.      The 

Datchelor  College  is  non-residential,  and  by  its 

Training  ?     .  , 

College   1888.        constitution    the    numbers    may    not 

exceed  26.    Besides  obtaining  practice 

in  the  Mary  Datchelor  School,  the  students  give  lessons 

in  a  large  London  Board  school  near  the  College.    Miss 

C.  Rigg  is  principal  both  of  the  Datchelor  School  and 

College. 

Men  have  so  far   shewn  themselves   very  chary  of 

patronising  training  in  the   teacher's  art.      A  training 

college  once  existed  for  them  in  Cowper  Street,  but  died 

of  inanition.     The  College  of  Preceptors  is  making  a 

praiseworthy  effort,  at  great  expense,  to  revive  such  a 

college.     It  was  opened  in  October,  1895,  but  so  far  the 

College  has  experienced  the  truth  of  Professor  Sully's 

observation  in  \h.&  Journal  of  Educatmi  (June,  1894), 

that  the  head-masters  of  English  secondary  schools,  when 

engaging  an  assistant,  think  more  of  a  good  bat  or  a 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       17S 

good  degree  than  of  necessary  training.  In  this  con- 
nection it  is  worth  observing  that  the  College  of 
Preceptors  has  for  many  years  given  teachers'  courses 
of  useful  lectures,  on  the  art  of  teaching  and  kindred 
subjects,  by  eminent  educationists,  which  have  been 
largely  used  by  those  whose  work  would  not  allow  of 
training  within  the  walls  of  a  college.  The  Council 
have  besides  offered  four  scholarships  at  training 
colleges,  both  to  men  and  women. 

But  though  men  fight  shy  of  training  colleges,  they 
avail  themselves,  to  some  extent,  of  the  opportunities 
Training  °^  ^^^  training  now  afforded  in  many 

encouraged  at  large  towns  and  educational  centres, 
University  in    the    local    university    colleges    at 

Co  eges.  Aberystwyth,  Cardiff,  and  other  places. 

Girton  and  Newnham  seem  rather  to  have  adopted  the 
masculine  attitude  towards  training:  the  degree  or 
equivalent  of  a  degree  is  enough — the  teacher  is  heaven- 
sent. So  much  nonsense  continues  to  be  talked  on  the 
subject,  usually  by  men  and  women  who  pass  straight 
from  the  university  colleges  to  the  class-room,  that  it  may 
be  pardonable  to  point  out  that  those  who  dispense 
with  training  are  not  even  in  as  good  a  position  as 
men  and  women  who  have  passed  medical  examinations 
and  have  omitted  to  walk  the  hospitals  under  trained 
guidance.  The  medical  student  never  quite  loses  sight 
of  the  hospital ;  the  undergraduate  need  never  cross  the 
threshold  of  a  school.  Occasionally  a  comparison  is 
instituted  between  the  untrained  graduate  and  some 
trained,  insufficiently  educated  person.     This  is  scarcely 


176  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

ingenuous;  the  only  fair  comparison  must  be  drawn 
between  the  trained  graduate  and  the  untrained.  It 
is  said  that  there  is  a  tendency  for  those  who  lack 
degrees  to  atone  by  training.  Even  if  this  were  so, 
it  could  not  remain  as  a  permanent  condition,  when 
thorough  equipment  and  specialization  are  so  much  to 
the  front. 

A  House  of  Education  at  Ambleside  was  opened 
in  1892  for  the  training  of  thirty  primary  {i.e.  for  young 
Training  for  children)  and  secondary   governesses, 

Private  under  Miss  Charlotte  M.  Mason.    The 

Governesses.  course  has  recently  been  extended  to 

two  years,  and  is  such  as  to  enable  young  women  to 
discharge  the  duties  of  such  posts  thoroughly  well. 
The  House  is  an  outcome  of  the  Parents'  National 
Educational  Union,  which,  with  its  twenty-two  active 
branches  in  London  and  the  country,  makes  a  suc- 
cessful effort  to  place  ideals  and  schemes  of  education 
before  that  individual  whom  other  educational  societies 
find  so  unreachable,  the  British  parent.  Miss  Mason 
has  made  a  praiseworthy  effort  to  induce  mothers  to 
take  up  a  three  years'  educational  course ;  already  62 
mothers  have  become  members.  The  significance  of 
the  movement  can  scarcely  be  over-estimated ;  the  idea 
it  embodies  is  bound  to  spread. 

The  National  Froebel  Union  is  formed  by  the  union 
of  three  societies,  the  Froebel  Society  (1874),  Kinder- 
garten Company,  and  Home  and 
Sm"  a^  ^"^"^  Colonial  School  Society,  for  certifi- 
cate purposes.  Certificates  are  not  now 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       177 

issued  by  these  separate  societies,  but  by  the  Joint 
Examination  Board  of  the  Froebel  Union ;  the  Educa- 
tion Department  recognizes  them.  There  are  no 
statistics  as  to  the  number  of  kindergarten  teachers; 
but  it  is  worth  noting  that  the  Froebel  Society  issued 
72  certificates  down  to  1887 ;  the  Froebel  Union,  from 
1887-1895,  issued  884  (sometimes  an  individual  holds 
two  certificates).  In  1896  almost  600  candidates  sat 
for  the  examinations.  The  Kindergarten  Company 
and  Home  and  Colonial  School  Society  have  training 
colleges  for  students.  Of  recent  years  there  has  been 
a  great  and  growing  demand  for  kindergarten  teachers, 
especially  among  high  schools  and  private  schools.  The 
elementary  infant  schools  of  the  country,  especially  the 
Voluntary  schools,  are  said  to  have,  very  rarely,  true 
and  properly  equipped  kindergartens.  The  work  of  the 
Froebel  Society  is  intended  to  promote  co-operation 
amongst  those  engaged  in  kindergarten  work,  and  to 
spread  the  knowledge  of  Froebel's  methods  of  education. 

//.  London  School  of  Medicine  for  Women. 
If  we  wish  to  know  the  reason  why  the  London 
School  of  Medicine,  modestly  housed  in  a  private 
dwelling  in  Handel  Street,  Brunswick  Square,  was 
founded,  we  mrust  seek  it  in  the  Northern  capital.  In 
1869  Miss  Jex-Blake  and  some  other  women  students 
matriculated  in  medicine  at  Edinburgh  University,  one 
Attempt  to  obtain  ^^  ^^  vno^X  important  medical  schools 
Teaching  at  in  the  kingdom.     The  governing  body 

Edinburgh.  ^gj.^  q^j^-g  fining  that  women  should 

N 


178  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

take  medical  degrees;  but,  unhappily,  the  professors 
held  different  views  on  woman's  sphere.  The  ladies 
were  insulted  in  the  streets  of  Edinburgh  by  under- 
graduates whose  prejudices  outran  their  knowledge  and 
discretion ;  students  even  went  the  length  of  throwing 
missiles  at  those  who  offended  their  sense  of  propriety. 
Miss  Jex-Blake  was  unsuccessful  in  her  attempts  in  the 
Scottish  Law  Courts  to  compel  the  professors  to  carry 
out  the  instructions  of  the  governing  body  of  Edinburgh 
University.  Edinburgh  was  abandoned,  and  the  attack 
concentrated  upon  London. 

Mrs.  Garrett  Anderson,  M.D.,  already  in  practice  with 
a  Paris  degree,  Dr.  Anstie,  Dr.  King  Chambers,  Mrs. 
Thorne,  and  many  others  were  willing  and  able  to  help. 
Anstie  was  most  enthusiastic,  and  in  a  few  weeks  the 
Henrietta  Street  School  was  organized,  with  a  large  and 
important  staff  of  lecturers,  and  twenty-three  students. 
As  an  illustration  of  the  poverty  against  which  women 
have  so  often  to  contend,  it  is  noteworthy  that  the  new 
medical  school  began  operations  with  little  more  than 
;^iooo.  It  is  a  long  story  how  hospital  committees  were 
ready  to  welcome  women  students,  but  the  medical  staff, 
bent  on  the  protection  of  their  interests,  invariably 
refused  admission  to  the  wards.  Dr.  T.  Chambers, 
of  Chelsea,  gave  the  Women's  Medical  School  permis- 
sion to  enter  some  wards  of  Chelsea  Hospital,  and  a 
little  more  practice  was  obtained  at  the  New  Hospital 
for  Women.  Thanks  to  the  tact  and  energy  of  Mr. 
Jas.  Stansfeld,  and  Mr.  Hopgood,  Chairman  of  the 
Committee   of    the   Royal   Free   Hospital,   Gray's   Inn 


TECHNICO'PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       179 

Road,  women  were  ultimately  admitted  to   the  wards 

of  that  hospital,  on  condition  that  they  paid  a  yearly 

subsidy  of  £,11^  to  the  funds  of  the  hospital.     This 

was    remitted    at    the   end    of   five    years,  the   school 

guaranteeing  ;£^4oo   per '  annum    to   the   medical   staff 

for  the  first  five  years,  and  ;£"46o   for  the   next  five 

years.      Though  the  premises  of  the   London  School 

of   Medicine  leave  much   to  be  desired,  the  teaching 

given  is  second  to  none,  the  professors  being  of  high 

standing.      At  present,  there  are  150  women  studying 

medicine  in  the  school,  about  half  of  whom  are  working 

for  the  degrees  of  London  University.     Women  may 

obtain  teaching  at  University  College  for  the  preliminary 

scientific  M.B.  examination;   members  of  such  classes 

are  counted  as  science  students.     Other  medical  training 

at  University   College   is   closed   to   them,  as   it  is   at 

Owens   College,  Liverpool  College,  Yorkshire  College, 

Mason    College    of    Science,    Nottingham    University 

College,   Firth  College,  Sheffield,  and  Bristol  College. 

In  some  cases,  only  clinical  instruction  is  not  obtainable 

for  women  students. 

Examinations  of  London  University  are  open  to  them, 

and  they  already  hold  these  degrees  : 

Bachelor  of  Medicine  .  .  •        •        •  53 

Doctor  of  Medicine  .  .  ...  15 

Bachelor  of  Surgery  .  .  ...  10 

Master  of  Surgery  .  .  .         .         ,  i 

Students  work  not  only  for  the  degrees  of  London 
University,  but  for  those  of  the  Royal  University  of 
Ireland,  the  Irish  and  Scotch  Colleges  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons,  for  Durham,  Glasgow,  and  Edinburgh. 


l8o  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

Some  212  women  on  the  medical  register  have 
obtained  the  whole  or  part  of  their  training  at  the 
London  School;  about  77  others  are  on  the  register 
who  did  not  obtain  their  training  here. 

It  is  advisable  to  allude  here  to  a  movement  now  on 
foot  for  definite  training  of  medical  nurses.  At  present, 
"trained  and  certificated  nurse"  means  a  great  many 
different  things,  for  lack  of  a  uniform  standard.  Each 
hospital  seems  to  have  its  own  standard,  a  system  that 
gives  rise  to  considerable  trouble.  Mrs.  Bedford 
Fenwick  advocates  a  definite  collegiate  curriculum  for 
the  education  of  nurses. 


III.    Science  and  Art   Department,  South 
Kensington. 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  work  of  the 
Science  and  Art  Department  in  elementary  schools  and 
Science  and  Art  ^^  secondary  education  generally,  the 
Department,  latter    part    of    its    work    being   very 

S.  Kensington.  various.  The  Department  has  long 
recognized  the  necessity  for  training  teachers  to  take 
up  its  work  both  in  science  and  art,  and  this  training 
is  extended  to  others  who  pay  its  fees,  or  win  their  way 
to  the  centre  by  means  of  a  system  of  exhibitions  and 
scholarships.  It  was  found  to  be  one  thing  to  be  able 
to  pass  the  examinations  of  the  Department,  and  another 
to  be  an  able  and  successful  teacher. 

The  Normal  School  of  Science  was  established  in 
1859 ;  in  1 88 1  it  was  entirely  reorganized,  and  the  Royal 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       i8i 

School  of  Mines  incorporated  with  it : 
{d)  Royal  College  .        _       .       .  .  "^ .          a  .     .J 

of  Science  ^^  ^9°  ^^^  changed  to  the 

Royal  College  of  Science.  Its  sessional 
courses  were  attended  during  the  first  part  of  the  session 
1896-97  by  300  men  and  6  women.  The  course  at  the 
Royal  College  of  Science  lasts  three  years,  and  those 
who  pass  through  it  in  a  prescribed  order  receive  the 
title  of  Associate.  Besides  these  regular  students,  who 
are  very  largely  the  successful  candidates  of  the  spring 
examinations,  teachers  of  scientific  subjects  in  elementary 
and  other  schools  have  ever  since  1868  been  encouraged 
to  come  to  London  for  a  short  scientific  summer  course 
in  a  branch  of  science  they  teach  or  wish  to  teach. 
Their  third-class  return  railway  fare  is  paid  to  South 
Kensington,  and  each  receives  a  bonus  of  ;^3  towards 
incidental  expenses.  Of  course,  great  stress  is  laid 
upon  practical  work  in  the  laboratories ;  202  men  and 
10  women  availed  themselves  of  the  help  thus  afforded 
by  the  Department  in  1894-95. 

The  subjects  most  popular  with  women  are  botany, 
physiology,  and  hygiene;  but,  as  the  figures  shew, 
women  scarcely  avail  themselves  of  the  admirable 
opportunities  placed  within  their  reach. 

It  is  quite  otherwise  with  the  Art  Department,  for 
in  the  training  school  women  are  in  a  slight  majority. 
The  college  is  a  development  of  the 
College  of  Art.  School  of  Design  and  Central  School 
of  Art  at  Somerset  House,  created  in 
1837,  and  at  that  time  under  the  control  of  the  Board 
of   Trade.      An  important    feature  of   the    work  has 


i82  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

always  been  the  training  of  teachers.  The  title  of 
School  of  Design  was  altered  in  1852  to  Department 
of  Science  and  Art,  and  the  location  changed  to  Marl- 
borough House.  When  the  Education  Department  was 
constituted  in  1856,  the  Science  and  Art  Department 
to  a  certain  extent  amalgamated  with  it,  and  both  were 
placed  under  the  Lord  President  and  Vice-President  of 
Council.  In  1857  the  Science  and  Art  Department 
removed  to  South  Kensington.  The  fate  of  the  Royal 
Female  School  of  Art  is  treated  later. 

There  is  no  special  difference  in  the  treatment  of 
the  sexes  as  regards  privileges.  The  cost  of  their  art 
Women  not  Head  education  is  reckoned  to  be  the  same  ; 
Teachers  in  Local  but,  as  far  as  scholarships  are  con- 
Schools  of  Art.  cerned,  the  number  of  women  is  much 
smaller.  The  students  in  training  for  the  post  of  head 
of  a  local  art  school  are  men.  Such  appointments  rest 
with  local  committees,  and  no  woman  seems  yet  to 
have  convinced  a  locality  that  she  could  assume  such 
a  position.  There  seems  no  reason  whatever  why  a 
woman  should  not  be  a  head  teacher  in  the  schools 
of  the  Department,  since  she  occasionally  now  works 
as  an  assistant,  and  it  is  for  women  to  note  how 
they  suffer  when  excluded,  and  they  practically  are 
excluded,  by  local  opinion,  from  some  of  the  most 
highly  considered  posts  of  the  profession.  It  has  been 
pointed  out  that  in  the  immense  lists  of  teachers'  names 
in  the  calendar  of  the  Science  and  Art  Department, 
1896,  pp.  2-412,  there  might  be  a  woman's  name.  But 
even   if  this   were   so,   the   contention   would   not   be 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       183 

affected.  Men  reasonably  claim  the  highest  creative 
power  in  art,  but  such  power  is  frequently  incompatible 
with  the  work  of  a  teacher.  Mr.  Walter  Crane,  on 
resigning  his  post  of  Director  of  the  Manchester 
Municipal  School  of  Art,  in  July  1896,  shewed  how 
difficult  it  is  to  dovetail  work  and  teaching.  It  would 
seem  to  be  wisdom  on  the  part  of  women  to  obtain 
seats  on  local  committees,  so  that  their  sex  may  not 
be  passed  over  by  default.  The  Department  is  not 
always  well  served  by  its  men  teachers,  and  it  would 
be  difficult  to  maintain  that,  in  teaching,  efficiency  is 
limited  to  one  sex. 

It  is  only  fair  to  add  that  the  Department  has 
recently  employed  women  as  examiners  in  the  National 
Art  Competition  with  success.  There  are  twenty-three 
art  subjects  in  which  instruction  may  be  obtained  at 
an  art  school.  The  training  at  the  Central  School  of 
Art,  which  contains  a  large  proportion  of  the  picked 
scholars  of  local  art  schools,  lasts  about  two  years  for 
women,  four  for  men.  There  is  good  reason  to  suppose 
that  as  far  as  design  is  concerned,  women  show  more 
invention,  fancy,  and  adaptability  than  men,  but  less 
power  to  endure  sustained  effort.  The  sexes  work 
together  in  the  different  departments.  Holders  of 
scholarships  work  for  about  40  weeks  in  the  year,  and 
receive  a  weekly  sum  of  25J.  from  the  Department  for 
maintenance.  In  the  art  section,  the  Department  is 
more  and  more  using  inspection  as  a  means  of  assessing 
its  grants  to  local  art  schools.  It  also  superintends 
the   work    of    4484    persons    in    training   colleges    for 


i84  .       EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

elementary  teachers  subsidized  by  the  Education  De- 
partment. 

Number  of  Students  in  the  National  Art  Training  School, 

South  Kensington,  1896. 

Total,  479. 

Men.         Women. 

Total  .  .  .         .     238  ...     241 

National  Scholars         .  .        .      72  ...       14 

Free  Students  .  .        •       34  ...      43 

Local  Scholars  .  .        .        8  ...        4 

The  Royal  Female  School  of  Art  stands  on  a  different 
footing  from  other  metropolitan  schools  of  art :  it  is 
Royal  Female  really  an  offshoot  of  the  School  of 
School  of  Art,  Design  which  preceded  the  Science 
Queen  Square,       and    Art    Department.     The    School 

*   ''  of  Design   was   originally  located  at 

Somerset  House,  in  1842-43,  under  the  Board  of 
Trade ;  the  women's  section  was  managed  besides  by 
a  committee  of  artists.  In  1853  the  School  of  Design 
removed  to  Marlborough  House,  with  the  exception 
of  the  women  students,  who  found  a  home  in  Gower 
Street,  and  afterwards  in  Queen  Square,  under  the 
control  of  the  Science  and  Art  Department.  Though 
not  architecturally  beautiful,  as  one  would  prefer  art 
schools  to  be,  the  premises  are  commodious,  and  an 
excellent  training  is  obtained  by  more  than  a  hundred 
students,  under  Miss  Louisa  Gann,  who  has  been 
connected  with  the  school  since  the  day  it  was  founded. 
The  school  enjoys  royal  patronage,  and  many  beautiful 
designs  have  been  produced  for  the  members  of  the 
royal  family  at  different  times.     The  course  of  training 


TECHNICO -PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       185 

usually  lasts  from  three  to  five  years,  and  embraces 
painting  in  oil  and  water-colour,  drawing  from  the  life 
and  from  the  antique,  design,  illustration,  modelling 
in  clay  and  wax. 

Many  valuable  scholarships  exist  in  connection  with 
the  school,  and  are  annually  competed  for.  In  the 
lithographic  studio  women  receive  technical  instruction 
in  the  new  art  printing  processes,  one  of  the  greatest 
art  developments  of  the  day.  The  work  of  the  studio 
is  admirable,  and  is  said  to  be  equal  to  the  best 
German  processes. 

IV.  Music. 

It  was  Liszt  who,  critically  observing  the  indiscrimi- 
nating  appreciation  of  a  London  concert  hall,  remarked : 
"  The  Enghsh  would  applaud  me  if  I  sat  on  the  piano." 
Yet  though  musicians  have  still  to  complain  of  lack  of 
musical  culture,  much  has  been  done  in  recent  years 
to  raise  the  standard.  Indeed,  it  is  a  question  deserving 
the  attention  of  those  interested  whether  the  national 
taste  did  not  sink  very  low  because  of  the  low  condition 
of  women's  education.  Music  was  not  loved  and 
studied  for  itself,  but  as  a  mere  accomplishment,  an 
added  string  to  the  bow  of  attractiveness. 

Various  bodies  have  helped  to  raise  the  standard. 
First,  in  point  of  time,  is  the  Royal  Academy  of  Music. 

,  -      ,  The  Academy  began  its  work  in  1823 

Royal  Academy        .  ,  ,  ,       .     , 

of  Music   1823.      "^^^^  twenty  students ;    to-day  it  has 
500;  in  all,  some  6000  persons  have 
received  a  part,  or  the  whole,  of  their  training  by  its 
means.     Ensemble    practice,    sight-reading,    orchestral 


1 86  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

and  operatic  work,  languages,  and  instruction  in  a  large 

number  of  instruments,  form  part   of  the  curriculum. 

The  Academy  has  done  good  work  by  means  of  its 

system   of   examinations,  which  used   to   be   held  all 

over  the  country  in  the  spring,  and  which  have  largely 

helped  to  wipe  out  the  ineffectual  pretence  at  teaching 

music  which  was  common   a  generation  ago.     It  has 

helped  to  substitute  a  very  fair  standard  in  theory  and 

performance.     In   1889  the  Academy  united  with  the 

Royal  College  of  Music,  under  the  title  of  the  Associated 

Board,  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  these  provincial 

examinations.     It   still   carries   on   in 
The  Associated      _.       ,        . 
Board    1880  London  its  metropolitan  examination 

for  teachers  and  performers,  who  hold 
the  title  of  Fellow  or  Associate.  It  is  worthy  of  note 
that  the  Associated  Board  publishes  a  register  of  schools 
and  individual  teachers  whose  standard  is  satisfactory. 
Less  satisfactory,  unless  there  is  some  reasonable  ex- 
planation for  it,  is  the  list  of  the  professional  staff, 
where,  out  of  94  teachers,  only  four  are  women,  and 
of  these  three  for  singing :  not  one  out  of  24  pianoforte 
teachers  is  a  woman.  Beneath  is  a  list  of  "sub- 
professors,"  in  which  women  are  plentiful  enough.  This 
is  the  more  remarkable,  as  among  the  Academy's  list  of 
famous  scholars  women's  names  are  by  no  means  scarce. 
The  Guildhall  School  of  Music  was  founded  in  1880 
by  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  London,  and  has  its 
The  Guildhall  home  in  a  convenient  building  on 
School  of  Music,  Victoria  Embankment.  The  fees  are 
1880.  more  moderate  than  in  some  schools 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       187 

of  music,  with  the  result  that  the  numbers  have  rushed 
up  from  65  in  1880  to  3700  in  1896.  Of  these,  three- 
fourths  are  women,  both  amateurs  and  professionals. 
There  are  46  scholarships,  open  to  both  sexes,  offered 
to  those  who  have  studied  at  least  three  terms  in  the 
school.  Besides  which,  certificates,  medals,  prizes 
stimulate  the  students  to  work.  About  forty  instru- 
ments and  subjects  are  taught  by  a  very  large  mixed 
staff,  and  there  are  an  orchestra,  a  choir,  and  an  operatic 
class. 

Another  body  which  is  doing  good  work  to  advance 
the  cultivation  of  music  is  the  Royal  College.  It  was 
founded  by  the  exertions  of  the  Prince 
IvSc,  1883.^^  °  ^^  Wales,  incorporated  in  1883,  and 
removed  to  handsome  buildings  near 
the  Albert  Hall  in  1894.  In  1896  the  Royal  College 
had  324  pupils.  Of  these,  263  were  paying  students, 
205  being  women;  of  61  holding  scholarships,  16  were 
women.  Scholarships  are  gained  by  competition,  open 
to  all  classes  and  both  sexes,  unless  the  donor  stipulates 
otherwise.  At  Easter,  the  College  holds  an  examination 
for  its  Associateship  (A.R.C.M.),  also  open  to  both  sexes, 
an  honour  which  women  often  obtain. 

Good  authorities,  in  answer  to  a  query  addressed  to 
them  touching  improvement  in  musical  culture,  have 
replied  that  this  improvement  is  very  marked,  especially 
during  the  last  decade.  One  enthusiastic  amateur 
attributes  it  to  facilities  for  foreign  travel,  enabling 
people  to  judge  of  Continental  standards;  to  the 
Saturday  and   Monday   Popular   Concerts,  and   those 


l88  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

of  the  Crystal  Palace;  and  to  the  well-known  work 
of  the  late  Sir  Charles  Hall^  in  the  North.  Allusion 
has  already  been  made  to  the  work  of  the  Royal 
College,  associated  with  the  Royal  Academy,  in  its 
system  of  examinations;  the  effect  of  these  has  been 
very  notable. 

In  some  schools,  notably  the  Cheltenham  Ladies' 
College,  great  attention  is  paid  to  music,  and  the 
results  are  distinctly  good.  In  the  elementary  training 
colleges  attention  is  given  to  vocal  music,  the  inspectors 
of  the  Education  Department  attaching  importance  to 
its  cultivation. 

Trinity  College  was  founded  in  1872  as  a  voluntary 
musical  society;  in  1881  it  received  a  new  and  amended 
constitution,  whereby  its  sphere  of 
jggj  '     usefulness  was  largely  extended.     Its 

scholarships  are  offered  on  the  ground 
of  absolute  equality  between  the  sexes.  Quite  recently 
women  have  been  appointed  on  the  professorial  staff. 

Trinity  College  has  its  own  scheme  of  examinations, 
including  Matriculation,  Associate  in  Music,  Licentiate 
in  Music,  and  Fellowship. 

V.   Three  Technical  Colleges  for  Women. 

It  has  been  said  that  as  an  influence  which  makes 
for  moraUty,  good  cookery  has  never  yet  been  sufficiently 
The  National  reckoned  with.  However  this  may 
School  of  be,   it    is    certain    that    the    National 

Cookery,  1873.  School  of  Cookery  is  doing  a  great 
and  a  needed  work.      The   school  is  an  outcome  of 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       189 

a  series  of  lectures  delivered  at  the  International 
Exhibition  of  1872  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Buckmaster,  of  the 
Science  and  Art  Department.  It  was  computed  that 
250,000  persons  attended  these  lectures,  illustrated  by 
four  women  cooks,  and  this  fact  seemed  to  show  the 
need  for  methodical  and  scientific  instruction. 

The  following  year  the  School  of  Cookery  was  called 
into  existence ;  ever  since  the  Duke  of  Westminster 
has  remained  President  of  the  School;  the  Hon.  E.  F. 
Leveson-Gower,  the  Chairman  of  Committee ;  and,  with 
the  exception  of  the  first  year,  Mrs.  Charles  Clarke  has 
been  the  superintendent.  The  School  very  courageously 
worked  for  its  capital  to  build  new  premises,  those  it 
occupied  at  South  Kensington  up  to  1889  being  far 
from  suitable.  It  had  the  management  of  the  cheap 
dinners  at  a  series  of  Exhibitions,  the  Fisheries,  Health, 
Inventions,  Colonial,  and  Indian;  by  this  means,  and 
as  a  result  of  the  able  management  providing  good  food 
at  cheap  rates,  the  School  of  Cookery  saved  ;^5ooo. 
With  this  it  built  its  handsome  premises  in  Buckingham 
Palace  Road.  They  consist  of  an  excellent  series  of 
kitchens  for  giving  lessons  to  children  from  elementary 
schools ;  cooks  studying  artizan,  middle-class,  and  high- 
class  cooking ;  rooms  for  laundry  work,  dressmaking, 
and  millinery.  Since  its  foundation  the  School  has 
granted  1305  diplomas;  this  by  no  means  covers  its 
field  of  usefulness.  Large  numbers  of  ladies  attend 
classes,  especially  ladies  on  the  eve  of  their  marriage ; 
when  the  London  season  opens,  girls  come  for  parts 
of  the  course  that  attract  them,  and  cooks  also  work 


I90  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

up  certain  departments.  The  diploma  really  means 
that  the  holder  is  qualified  to  teach  cookery;  and,  as 
a  result  of  the  efforts  of  the  original  institution,  large 
numbers  of  towns  have  cookery  schools  of  their  own, 
with  properly  qualified  instructors.  It  is  well  known 
that  to-day  a  good  elementary  school  cannot  earn  the 
higher  grant  without  domestic  economy  as  a  subject. 
The  London  School  Board  was,  in  its  early  days, 
approached  by  the  Committee  of  the  School  of  Cookery, 
and  the  development  of  its  course  of  instruction  was 
influenced  and  assisted  by  the  School  of  Cookery.  An 
arrangement  was  made  with  the  Education  Department, 
by  which  the  School  granted  local  diplomas  to  students 
in  training  colleges  and  pupil  teachers  in  elementary 
schools.  The  Government  grant  of  4s.  per  head  was 
earned  by  7000  children  in  1883,  by  90,000  in  1892. 
Circumstances  compelled  the  Cookery  School  to  widen 
its  curriculum.  Under  its  roof  can  now  be  obtained 
a  course  of  instruction  in  laundry  work,  as  well  as  in 
home  dressmaking  and  millinery,  so  that  the  real  title 
of  this  useful  institution  should  be  School  of  Domestic 
Economy.  The  School  has  had  the  honour  of  advising 
the  War  Office  authorities  how  to  improve  sick  cookery 
in  military  hospitals,  messing  in  the  army;  it  has 
sent  instructors  to  the  Army  School  of  Cookery,  has 
helped  in  Volunteer  cookery  instruction,  and  in  the 
movement  set  on  foot  by  the  Admiralty  to  train  navy 
cooks.  It  assisted  to  organize  classes  to  train  the 
nurses  of  the  London  Hospitals  in  cookery  for  the 
sick. 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       191 

A  diploma  of  plain  cookery  costs  about  ;£^2o ;  high- 
class  cookery,  £^21,  It  should  be  distinctly  understood 
that  the  holder  of  a  diploma  is  not  only  a  practical 
cook,  but  able  to  undertake  class  teaching  and  teaching 
by  demonstration.  The  County  Councils  of  London, 
Kent,  and  Surrey  grant  about  a  dozen  scholarships  of 
the  value  of  £\o  los.  each.  Unhappily  these  have 
rather  a  way  of  working  themselves  into  the  hands  of 
those  for  whom  they  were  scarcely  intended,  the  vicar's 
relatives,  for  instance.  The  upper  rooms  of  the  School 
are  used  for  boarding  ladies;  rooms  in  the  basement 
for  cooks  and  holders  of  artizan  scholarships. 

The  School  suffers  from  a  difficulty  in  disposing  of 
its  cooked  food ;  recently  it  has  made  an  effort  to  make 
known  that  dishes  are  for  sale.  It  has  and  requires 
a  large  and  expensive  staff  of  teachers  for  its  numerous 
activities.  It  desires  aid  from  the  Technical  Education 
Board,  which  hitherto  it  has  not  obtained.  It  has  also 
to  bear  a  very  heavy  ground  rental  of  £,2\o  per  annum. 
No  doubt  its  able  management  can  reflect  upon  rent 
as  that  "  delicate  alchemy  by  which  the  perfumed 
seigneur  can  extract  every  fourth  nettle  from  the  widow's 
pot."  The  ground  rent  of  the  School,  its  rates,  coal, 
and  gas,  amount  to  more  than  ;£'7oo  per  annum.  It 
subsists  solely  on  its  fees  and  subscriptions  of  a  few 
friends,  who  give  one  vote  for  every  £^1  subscribed 
towards  training  a  student,  instead  of  her  paying  the 
fees. 

The  Physical  Training  College  at  Dartford  Heath 
owes  its  inception  to  a  Swedish  lady,  Mme.  Bergman 


192         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

Physical  Oesterberg,  who  came  to  London  in 

Training  1881,  and  received  the  appointment 

o  ege,  I  5.  ^^  physical  trainer  under  the  London 
School  Board.  For  some  years  Mme.  Oesterberg 
worked  at  the  training  of  the  Board's  teachers,  some 
thousand  of  whom  passed  through  her  hands.  It  is  not 
always  known  that  the  yearly  demonstration  of  school 
children,  which  takes  place  in  the  Albert  Hall  in  July,  is 
managed  by  those  whose  training  was  received  under 
Mme.  Oesterberg.  But  the  results  at  which  Ling's 
Swedish  system  aims,  the  careful  graduation  of  exercises 
to  suit  the  student's  strength  and  the  development  of 
the  muscles  with  due  regard  to  symmetry,  can  hardly  be 
obtained  by  a  weekly  exercise  of  an  hour's  duration, 
often  performed  in  an  unsuitable,  and  even  injurious 
costume,  at  a  time  when  the  pupil  may  be  fatigued. 
Personal  health  and  hygienic  surroundings,  diet, 
clothing,  regulation  of  the  hours  of  rest  and  work, 
all  require  consideration.  To  this  end  the  Hampstead 
Physical  Training  College  was  founded  in  1885  to 
prepare  students  of  Ling's  system  to  undertake  work 
in  schools  and  colleges  as  gymnastic  teachers.  The 
course,  which  lasts  two  years,  embraces  gymnastics 
according  to  Ling's  system,  physiology,  hygiene, 
anatomy,  medical  massage,  elementary  pathology, 
ambulance.  In  addition,  students  thoroughly  learn 
such  games  as  lawn  tennis,  cricket,  hockey,  basket 
ball,  as  well  as  cycling  and  dancing,  with  the  aim 
of  introducing  games  and  recreation  into  girls'  schools 
and  colleges  as  a  regular  part  of  the  curriculum.     The 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       193 

College  has  proved  highly  successful,  removing  in  1895 
to  larger  premises  and  beautiful  grounds  of  some 
fourteen  acres.  Every  year  more  schools  make 
arrangements  for  the  physical  education  of  their 
pupils;  indeed,  the  chief  reason  why  greater  progress 
has  not  been  made,  is  that  teachers  adopt  poor  systems 
because  of  their  inability  to  distinguish  between  them 
and  Ling's. 

To  many  who  hold  the  opinion,  or  at  least  fear, 
that  without  some  greatly  needed  reform  in  dress,  and 
an  improvement  in  physique  and  muscular  development, 
the  mental  activities  and  social  usefulness  of  women  are 
hampered  and  depressed,  the  movement  here  briefly 
indicated  is  of  special  interest  and  significance.  It  is 
useless  to  deny  that  women's  higher  education  has 
still  its  inveterate  foes,  who  are  only  too  ready  to 
proclaim  that  deterioration  of  physique  follows  upon  the 
mental  application  required  by  a  college  course.  So 
recently  as  1887  Mrs.  Henry  Sidgwick,  the  well-known 
principal  of  Newnham  College,  prepared  an  elaborate 
series  of  health  statistics  of  past  and  present  women 
students  at  Cambridge  and  Oxford,  and  of  their  sisters, 
from  which  she  concluded  that  "there  is  nothing  in  a 
university  education  at  all  specially  injurious  to  the 
constitution  of  women  or  involving  any  greater  strain 
than  they  can  ordinarily  bear  without  injury,"  and  that 
"  women  generally  pass  through  it  without  its  affecting 
their  health  one  way  or  the  other."  Mrs.  Sidgwick  in 
comparing  the  health  of  college  students  and  their 
sisters  nearest  in  age  who  had  not  been  to  college, 

0 


194  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

found  that  "during  college  life  5  per  cent,  more 
students  had  excellent  or  good  health,  and  5  per  cent, 
fewer  had  poor  or  bad  health  than  sisters  between  18 
and  21."  Other  tables  (in  all  there  are  41  elaborate 
statistical  tables)  go  on  to  show  that  the  children  of 
married  students  are  healthier,  and  have  a  lower  death- 
rate,  than  those  of  sisters;  so  that  although  it  must 
be  set  down  as  a  fact  unfavourable  to  the  university 
education  of  women  that  there  is  a  temporary  falling 
off  during  college  life  of  about  5  per  cent,  in  good 
health,  as  compared  with  either  health  at  entering  or 
at  the  time  statistics  were  taken,  depending  to  some 
extent  on  the  relaxing  climate  of  the  universities,  alarm 
on  the  score  of  health  is  groundless.  The  publication 
of  this  pamphlet,*  able  and  impartial  as  it  undoubtedly 
is,  gave  satisfaction  to  the  women  engaged  in  education. 
Yet  most  women,  one  might  say  all  who  have  reflected 
upon  the  subject,  are  convinced  that  improvement  in  the 
health  of  their  sex  is  a  consideration  second  to  none. 
Such  improvement  can  never  follow  as  a  result  of  either 
physical  or  mental  indolence,  but  must  proceed  on  the 
lines  of  rational  and  regulated  exercise,  coupled  with 
healthy  and  enjoyable  games,  and  an  improved  dress. 
Some  devotees  of  this  faith  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that 
if  only  one  of  the  sexes  should  enjoy  this  exercise,  and 
aim  at  higher  physical  development,  that  sex  should 
be  the  weaker  one.     The  consideration  of  so  important 

*  Health  Statistics  of  Women  Students  of  Cambridge  and 
Oxford,  and  of  their  Sisters.  By  Mrs.  Henry  Sidgwick.  Cam. 
bridge  University  Press,  1890.     \s,  6d, 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       195 

a  matter  is,  perhaps,  not  out  of  place  in  a  work  on 
women's  education ;  and  since  one  outcome  of  reflection 
and  of  anxiety  on  the  subject  has  been  the  foundation 
and  the  hearty  support  of  a  college  of  physical  educa- 
tion, to  chronicle  it  has  been  a  duty.  Mme.  Bergman 
Oesterberg's  Physical  Training  College  shares  with  the 
Royal  Central  Institute  of  Gymnastics  in  Stockholm 
the  distinction  of  being  the  only  college  in  Europe 
in  which  a  full  course  of  instruction  is  given  in  the 
theory  and  practice  of  the  Swedish  system,  differing 
from  the  Institute  in  the  importance  ascribed  to  games, 
and  the  position  given  them  in  the  curriculum. 

Swanley  Horticultural  College  was  founded  in  1888 
for  men,  the  question  of  a  women's  department  never 
Swanley  Horticul-  appearing  to  occur  to  the  founders. 
tural  College—  The  idea  of  extending  its  benefits  to 
Women's  women  is  due  to  Miss  Cons,  who,  not 

Department,  1891.  ^^^^  ^ft^j.  j^er  election  to  the  London 
County  Council,  when  it  conferred  upon  her  the  dignity 
of  Alderman,  had  occasion  to  visit  some  homes  for  little 
boys  at  Swanley,  under  the  direction  of  the  L.C.C. 
Miss  Cons  on  that  occasion  also  saw  over  the  Swanley 
Horticultural  College,  which  was  at  that  time  somewhat 
of  the  nature  of  a  private  enterprise.  The  possibility  of 
its  further  development,  both  for  men  and  women, 
struck  Miss  Cons  as  great.  She  and  a  friend  entered 
the  College  as  students,  satisfied  themselves  that  the 
occupation  was  in  all  respects  suitable  for  women,  and 
forthwith  took  steps  to  begin  a  women's  branch,  which 
ever  since  has  been  increasingly  successful.    A  large 


196         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

council  of  influential  persons  was  formed ;  a  committee 
of  thirteen  chosen,  of  whom  twelve  are  ladies,  and  in 
1 89 1  a  house  secured,  about  five  minutes'  walk  from  the 
College.  The  committee  were  fortunate  in  their  choice 
of  a  Lady  Superintendent ;  for  not  a  little  of  the  success 
of  the  new  branch  is  due  to  Mrs.  Watson's  care  and 
organizing  ability.  In  the  autumn  of  1896,  there  were 
twenty-eight  women  students  working  at  the  College,  a 
number  slightly  in  excess  of  the  men.  But  for  this 
development  on  the  women's  side,  as  well  as  for  aid 
afforded  by  County  Councils,  it  is  not  certain  that  the 
work  of  the  College  could  have  continued  at  all.  Its 
expenses  are  very  heavy,  it  was  at  that  time  not  very 
well  known,  and  the  smallness  of  its  numbers  greatly 
minimised  its  usefulness  in  every  way.  The  twenty-eight 
students  are  composed  of  ladies  who  adopt  gardening  as 
a  means  of  making  a  livelihood  j  others  who  train  them- 
selves in  order  to  manage  their  own  gardens,  or  assume 
oversight  in  their  homes;  and,  thirdly,  by  County 
Council  scholars  who  find  their  way  to  the  College  by 
the  arrangements  of  Technical  Instruction  Committees. 
The  three  County  Councils  of  London,  Kent,  and 
Essex  offer  scholarships  both  to  men  and  women.  In 
addition,  the  Ladies'  Committee  of  Swanley  College 
have  hitherto  provided  funds  for  two  dififerent  scholar- 
ships to  be  held  at  the  College.  The  fees  for  women 
are  from  £,10  to  ;£"86. 

The  college  course  divides  itself  into  practical  and 
theoretical  work.  The  forty-three  acres  of  ground  on 
which  students  practise,  contain  fruit  orchards,  vegetable 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       197 

and  flower  gardens,  and  immense  glass  houses. 
Scientific  horticulture  includes  the  selection,  manage- 
ment, pruning,  and  grafting  of  fruit  trees ;  how  different 
bush  fruits  should  be  combined  in  an  orchard ;  culture 
under  glass;  gathering,  packing,  marketing,  preserving 
of  fruits  either  in  water  or  by  sugar  or  evaporation; 
production  of  early  vegetables,  hybridization  and  pro- 
pagation, seeds  and  sowing,  preparation  of  soils,  digging, 
ploughing,  draining,  trenching,  paring,  etc. ;  manures, 
their  composition  and  modes  of  application. 

The  theoretical  work  comprises  a  knowledge  of 
botany,  chemistry,  geology,  physics,  building  construc- 
tion, measuring,  levelling,  and  so  forth.  Students  are 
besides  given  lessons  in  bee-keeping,  poultry-farming, 
dairying,  table  decoration,  bouquet  making.  Besides  a 
lecture  theatre  and  class-rooms,  students  share  in 
common  a  small  physical  laboratory  and  library. 


VI.   Technical  Instruction. 

In  England  there  have  seldom  been  lacking  cultured 
individuals  who  have  steadfastly  maintained  that  educa- 
tion is  neither  for  one  sex,  nor  for  a  leisured  and  cultured 
class,  but  for  all.  Sunday  schools  and  ragged  schools 
attest  the  practical  outcome  of  this  view,  before  the 
State  proclaimed  it.  Educationists  might  cry  out  for 
the  need  of  culture  for  its  own  sake  and  for  that  of  the 
individual.  The  workers  of  the  country  disregarded 
such  a  theory;  employers  of  labour  pooh-poohed  the 
idea  of  education  for  all  as  worse  than  ridiculous,  and 


198  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

loudly  proclaimed  that  to  use  his  tools  should  be  the 
sum  total  of  the  workman's  education. 

But  when  nations  compete  with  each  other  to  supply 
the  world's  markets,  they  have  to  learn  a  great  lesson : 
they  must  keep  the  pace.  Twice  in  our  century  England, 
always  distrustful  of  educational  theories  and  theorists, 
has  pulled  up  sharply,  much  as  a  driver  who  has  mis- 
taken the  road  in  the  dark.     The  first  occasion  was  the 

International  Exhibition  of  185 1,  when 
International  .  -j     .  .1    .  •        .•  .•  r 

Exhibition  i8«;i  ^^  ^^^  evident  that  m  artistic  manufac- 
ture England  had  been  receding  for 
some  years,  whilst  Continental  nations  had  pushed 
forward,  and  in  certain  cases  left  England  behind. 
This  was  followed  by  the  Exhibition  of  1862,  a 
revelation  so  shocking  that  it  was  the  last  of  its  kind 
in  England.  It  is  from  the  mid-century  that  the 
Technical  Education  movement  more  properly  dates. 
To  these  Exhibitions  we  also  partially  owe  our  belated 
national  system  of  education,  rendered  compulsory  in 
1876  and  1880.  But  the  ten  years  of  "book  learning," 
between  1870  and  1880,  did  not  produce  the  desired 
result.  It  would  be  perfectly  safe  to  disregard  the 
teaching  of  a  Pestalozzi  or  a  Froebel,  who  would  educate 
the  senses,  for  were  they  not  theorists  and  therefore 
dispensable?  But  when  Britain  ploughed  through  a 
cycle  of  bad  trade  in  the  late  seventies,  when  her 
markets  were  dull  and  closing,  above  all,  when  the 
great  cry  of  "made  in  Germany"  arose,  even  theories 
were  able  to  obtain  some  attention.  "We  have 
too  much   education,"   sighed   the  Philistine;   an  idea 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       199 

Still  quite  common  in  England.     "We  have  too  little," 

rejoined  those  who  well  know  that  we  may  look  strong 

on   paper,   and  yet   lack   the    essential.      However   it 

may   be   with    the    manufacturer,   the   schoolmaster   is 

infinitely  indebted    to    Germany   for    the    inestimable 

service  her  growing  exports  have  rendered  his  profession. 

His    honour,    dignity,    even    his    pay    have    increased 

since  it  has  been  recognized  that  he  has  a  great  part 

to   play  in   the  production   of  national  wealth.      The 

need  for   better  technical   instruction   has    raked    the 

educational  ship  from  stem  to  stern.      It  begins  with 

the  worst  kindergarten  of  the  least  favoured  elementary 

school ;  it  ends  with  the  university. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  nothing  had 

been  done  in  the  way  of  technical  instruction  until  the 

_  .        ,     .  State    interfered.      Almost   invariably 

Private  Initiative.     ,  .     .  .    ,      , 

this  IS  one  of  the  later  stages  to  be 

reached   in  Britain;    private  initiative  and  local  effort 

precede  State  intervention.     In  former  days  the  ancient 

guilds  and  the  system  of  apprenticeship  undertook  the 

instruction  of  those  who  would  belong  to  an  art  or  a 

craft 

A    rapidly    increasing    population,     the     revolution 

effected  in  manufactures  by  steam  as  a  motor  power, 

and  consequent  massing  of  the  workers  in  factories  and 

works,  required  a  different  system  of  technical  education. 

Through  the  great  differentiation  of  labour  in  the  more 

important  industries,  it  was  becoming,  in  some  branches, 

increasingly  difficult  for  a  youth  to  pick  up  necessary 

knowledge    by    mere    observation,    and    by    rubbing 


20O  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

shoulders  with  the  older  workers.     Specialized  instruc- 
tion was  fast  becoming  a  necessity. 

Naturally,  it  first  made  itself  felt  in  the  great  centres 
of  population.      A   Professor  of    Glasgow   University, 
Dr.  Geo.  Birkbeck,  filled  with  zeal  for  the  education 
of  the  working  classes,  gave  courses  of  lectures  in  that 
city  on  popular  science  .subjects,  following  in  the  foot- 
steps of  Anderson  and  Black.     The  movement  spread. 
Mechanics'  Institutes  arose  all  over  Great  Britain,  and 
even  reached  the  Colonies.     Amongst  the  best-known 
of  these  is  the  Birkbeck  Institution,  founded  in  1823, 
now  carrying  on  its  work  in  Chancery  Lane,  London, 
as  actively  to-day  as  when  it  was  started,  though  now 
little   used   by   the    working    classes.      But    the  great 
ignorance   of    the   workers    in   the    early  part    of    the 
century  prevented  such  institutes  reaping  all  the  success 
which  should  have  been  theirs;   those  who  wished  to 
profit  had  frequently  received  no  elementary  education. 
Count  Rumford,  the  first  man  who  ever  attempted  to 
organize   technical   education,   made   the   acquaintance 
of  another  serious  difficulty :   the  professors  were  not 
sufficiently  practical.     Birmingham,  always  to  the  front 
in  education  and  municipal  activity,  had  a  technical 
school  in  Bridge  Street,  and  an  excellent  institute,  long 
before  Mason  College  was  founded  in  1875.    Manchester 
and  Bradford  were  not  oblivious  to  the  need  of  proper 
instruction.     But,  as  M.  Max  Leclerc  points  out,*  the 
first  need  was    primary   education.      The    Mechanics' 
Institutes  dwindled  into  clubs;   at  least  one  could  be 
*  U Education  en  Angleterre,  ch.  14. 


TECHNICO'PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       201 

named  that  became  a  music  hall.  The  organization 
of  elementary  education,  in  1870,  led  to  a  certain 
measure  of  technical  instruction  being  given  under  the 
more  progressive  School  Boards ;  the  decks  were  finally 
cleared  for  action  by  the  appointment  of  a  Royal 
Commission,  in  1 881,  to  inquire  into  the  matter. 

The  Report  of  1884  shewed  clearly  that  Britain, 
compared  with  other  nations,  was  losing  ground.  In 
Royal  Commis-  particular,  attention  was  drawn  to  the 
sion  on  Technical  excellent  technical  schools  existing  in 
Education,  1881.  Germany,  to  the  thorough  equipment 
of  German  leaders  of  industry.  It  was  recognized  that 
local  needs  must  be  considered,  and  that  technical 
education,  to  be  really  fruitful,  must  follow  a  good 
general  education.  An  Association  for  the  Promotion 
of  Technical  Education,  amongst  its  members  Sir  Hy. 
Roscoe,  Mr.  Arthur  H.  D.  Acland  (Vice-President  of 
the  Committee  of  Council,  1892-95),  and  the  Secretary, 
Mr.  Llewellyn  Smith,  worked  to  introduce  a  Bill  to 
Parliament;  and,  finally,  the  Technical  Instruction  Act 
was  passed  in  1889,  empowering  local  authorities  to 
rate  themselves  to  the  extent  of  a  penny  in  the  £, 
(rateable  value)  for  the  advancement  of  technical  in- 
struction in  elementary  and  secondary  schools,  and  in 
local  colleges  and  classes.  In  the  year  that  followed,  save 
in  one  or  two  of  the  better  educated  towns,  the  permission 
does  not  seem  to  have  excited  any  enthusiasm :  in 
Britain,  education  rates  do  not  enjoy  high  popularity. 

The  following  year,  Mr.  Goschen's  budget  shewed 
a  considerable  surplus,  due  to  the  increased  beer  and 


202  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

Increased  Beer      spirit    duties   levied   for    the   purpose 

and  Spirit  of     compensating     publicans     whose 

Duties,  1890.  ,.  11.  .  ,     , 

licences  were  about  to  be  extinguished. 

The  temperance  party  made  a  great  outcry  that  the 
Conservative  Government  wanted  to  use  the  nation's 
money  for  the  purpose  of  rewarding  their  poUtical  allies, 
the  publicans.  Part  of  the  sum,  ;£"3oo,ooo,  was 
assigned  to  the  Police  Superannuation  Fund,  and  the 
remainder,  ;^743,ooo,  was,  on  the  motion  of  Mr. 
Arthur  Acland,  made  applicable  to  technical  educa- 
tion. Ever  since,  the  sum  has  been  continued,  though 
it  is  sometimes  rather  smaller;  an  indication  that 
British  drinking  habits  are  slightly  decreasing. 

The  money  thus  wrested  from  the  publican  was 
divided  amongst  local  authorities.  County  and  Borough 
County  Councils  Councils,  and  this  gives  us  one  more 
and  Technical  authority  in  education.  Permission 
Instruction.  ^^^  granted  either  to  use  the  money 

for  the  improvement  of  technical  instruction  or  the 
diminution  of  the  rates.  Although  the  whole  sum  was 
not  always  used  for  educational  purposes,  yet  Preston 
was  the  only  borough  which,  up  to  the  publication  of  the 
Report  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Secondary  Educa- 
tion (October,  1895),  had  used  none  at  all.  It  had, 
however,  granted  a  site  for  a  technical  school,  and  has 
since  then  consented  to  contribute  ;£^5oo  out  of  the 
extra   Customs  and   Excise   Duties.      London*   spent 

*  London  does  not  always  lead  in  matters  educational.  When 
the  Act  of  1870  was  passed,  it  was  enacted  that  School  Boards 
should  be  elected,  at  the  option  of  boroughs  or  districts.  London 
was  forthwith  required  to  elect  such  Board. 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       203 

nothing  for  the  first  two  years,  save  a  few  hundred 
pounds  on  inquiries,  out  of  an  appropriation  of  ;^3o,ooo. 
During  the  next  three  years  ;£"! 95,000  was  expended 
altogether:  for  1896-97  the  Technical  Education  Board 
is  estimating  to  spend  ;^i  20,000;  its  entire  appropria- 
tion is  about  ;£  1 70,000. 

The  London  Technical  Education  Board  was  formed 
in  1893.  It  consists  of  35  members,  representing  the 
London  Technical  L-CC,  the  School  Board,  Trades' 
Education  Board,  Council,  and  other  bodies.  Mr.  Sidney 
'^3-  Webb,  L.C.C.,  is  the  chairman,  and 

the  Board  secured  the  services  of  Dr.  Wm.  Garnett,  the 
principal  of  the  Durham  College  of  Science,  Newcastle- 
upon-Tyne,  as  secretary.  It  was  decided  to  avoid  all 
injurious  competition  with  existing  institutions,  and  to 
give  the  word  "technical"  as  comprehensive  a  mean- 
ing as  possible.  Therefore  the  Board  has  aimed  at 
assisting  institutions  of  proved  efficiency,  or  likely 
to  become  efficient  with  wise  help.  This  is  done  by 
means  of  grants  to  build  and  furnish  laboratories, 
science  lecture  halls,  arts  and  crafts  rooms ;  and  by 
means  of  an  admirable  system  of  scholarships  to 
enable  children  of  elementary  schools  to  pass  into 
secondary  schools,  or  continue  their  education  in 
higher   grade    schools.      Of   the  Junior    Scholarships^ 

600  were  offered  in  1895-6,  in  the 
sSo!2ships.  proportion  of  one  girl  to  two  boys. 

On  inquiring  the  reason  of  this  ap- 
portionment, the  Secretary  states  that  the  demand  on 
the  part  of  the  girls  was  very  much  smaller;  but  for 


204         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

this  the  Board  itself  would  have  favoured  an  equal 
division.  The  numbers  for  one  half-yearly  examination 
in  May,  1895,  boys  and  girls  respectively,  were  : — 

Entries,  1231  ...  853  ;  passes,  651  ...  299  ;  scholars,  225  ...  109 

About  50  of  these  Junior  Scholarships  are  open  to 
children  coming  from  secondary  schools.  A  child's 
education  is  thus  carried  on  for  two  years  longer,  from 
about  13  to  15  years  of  age. 

Interfnediate  County  Scholarships  number  70,  and  give 
free  education  up  to  18  or  19. 

Senior  County  Scholarships  are  exhibitions  at  colleges 
of  university  rank.  They  are  worth  ^60  per  annum, 
and  afford  free  education  for  three  years 

Besides  these,  the  Board  offers  many  scholarships  for 
art,  artistic  handicrafts,  technology,  domestic  economy ; 
these  scholarships  cover  all  kinds  of  technical  work,  and 
are  for  persons  beyond  school  age  desirous  of  self- 
improvement.  It  has  close  connection  with  the  work 
of  Polytechnics,  Institutes,  and  other  bodies,  and  has 
65  different  subjects,  from  plumbing  to  infant  hygiene, 
taught  or  assisted  by  it  in  more  than  700  separate 
classes  and  courses. 

The  Board  comes  into  pretty  close  relationship  with 
a  large  number  of  secondary  schools,  which  it  uses 
Technical  Board  ^^"^  ^^^  scholarships.  Practically  such 
and  Secondary  schools  are  inspected  by  the  Board, 
Schools.  which  judges  if  they  are  efificient  in 

subjects  within  its  scope,  and  helps  them  to  become 
more  so  by  grants.      Though  not  exactly  State  inter- 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       205 

vention,  such  a  work  is  allied  to  it,  and,  be  it  observed, 
it  is  sought  by  secondary  schools  which  have  in  the  past 
often  loudly  declaimed  against  outside  interference.  It 
hardly  requires  to  be  pointed  out  that  the  Technical 
Education  Board  uses  the  very  means  employed  by  the 
State  itself  to  assume  control  of  the  elementary  schools, 
means  appealing  to  most  practical  teachers  and  govern- 
ing bodies :  a  money  grant  depending  on  efficiency. 
Some  of  the  old  institutions,  at  work  for  many  years 
in  the  technical  field,  e.g»  the  Birkbeck  Institution, 
have  been  assisted  to  come  into  line  with  newer  insti- 
tutions, in  order  not  to  lose  their  pre-eminence  by  lack  of 
proper  equipment  or  teaching.  Chemical  students  have 
been  taught  to  correlate  theoretical  and  laboratory  work, 
which  have  too  often  been  dissociated  in  the  past.  The 
Board  lays  great  stress  on  practical  work  done  in  labora- 
tories and  workshops,  thus  implicitly  condemning  the 
knowledge  of  a  science  or  craft  derived  merely  from  a 
text-book,  divorced  from  practice  and  experiment.  The 
Science  and  Art  Department  has  ruled  that  no  private 
or  proprietary  school  which  works  for  a  profit  to  share- 
holders may  be  used  by  the  Board  for  its  scholarships 
and  exhibitions.  This  ruling  has  not  been  strictly 
adhered  to  in  the  case  of  some  girls'  schools,  and  so 
far  no  case  has  been  referred  to  the  Local  Government 
Board  to  test  the  legality  of  such  payments. 

Dr.  Garnett  reports  that  when  the  Board  began  its 
system  of  scholarships,  in  order  to  give  any  to  girls  at 
all,  a  lower  standard  had  to  be  adopted  than  that  of  the 
boys ;  at  the  very  next  examination,  when  the  girls  saw 


2o6  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

what  was  requisite,  they  pulled  up,  and  answered  to  a 
similar  standard. 

The  extension  and  development  of  the  great  Poly- 
technic Institutes  deserves  more  than  passing  mention. 

_  .       ,   .  Eleven  of  these  people's  colleges  are 

Polytechnics.  /         i     •      t^ 

now   domg   good   work    m    London. 

Many  of  them,  such  as  the  Birkbeck  Institution,  the 
Regent  Street  Polytechnic,  the  People's  Palace,  the 
Borough  Polytechnic,  were  at  work  long  before  the 
London  Technical  Education  Board  was  created.  Still, 
the  ** whiskey  money"  has  enabled  them  to  do  more 
than  ever  before;  in  several  cases,  they  have  been 
entirely  reorganized.  Others,  such  as  the  Battersea, 
the  South  -  Western  (Chelsea),  the  Northern,  and  the 
Northampton  Institute  in  Clerkenwell,  are  quite  new, 
and  have  adopted  the  idea  that  they  must  study  local 
needs.  The  class  of  persons  using  the  Polytechnics 
depends  very  much  on  the  neighbourhood.  Woolwich, 
recently  reformed  on  modern  Unes,  and  the  Borough 
Polytechnic  are  almost  entirely  working  class ;  Chelsea 
is  supposed  to  be  middle  class;  Battersea  is  lower 
middle  and  working  class.  Several  of  them  have  been 
founded  and  endowed  by  the  Charity  Commission,  and 
work  under  its  schemes. 

A  visit  was  paid  to  Battersea  Polytechnic,  because  it 

happened  to  be  close  at  hand,  and  because  it  has  an 

important   development   in    Domestic 

techn[c^i8^°^^       Economy.     The  building  is  imposing 

(red  brick  with  stone  dressings),  with  a 

respectable   space   in   front,  which   too   many   London 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       207 

buildings  lack.  It  still  needs  a  great  Assembly  Hall  to 
complete  the  original  plan;  yet,  as  it  stands,  it  is  a 
striking  monument  to  the  great  revival  in  education 
amidst  which  we  live.  It  would  be  difficult  to  ex^ 
aggerate  the  impression  conveyed  to  the  mind  by  the 
great  suites  of  workshops  for  carpenters,  joiners, 
plumbers,  bricklayers,  masons,  electrical  engineers, 
blacksmiths,  and  other  trades,  all  well  attended  in  the 
evenings.  There  are  admirable  laboratories,  lecture 
theatres,  dark  rooms  for  photographic  processes ;  the 
Domestic  Economy  Department  has  space  for  laundry 
work,  cooking,  dressmaking;  there  are  two  admirable 
gymnasia  for  men  and  women,  as  well  as  a  whole  series 
of  art  class-rooms.  The  governing  body  had  intended 
to  dispense  with  the  women's  gymnasium  as,  though  the 
Polytechnic  cost  about  ;£45,ooo,  funds  were  not  too 
plentiful  for  so  extensive  a  work.  Fortunately  the 
Charity  Commissioners  stepped  in  and  provided  the 
funds.  Battersea  Polytechnic  is,  moreover,  conducting 
an  experiment  in  co-education — a  secondary  day  school 
for  boys  and  girls;  out  of  116  pupils,  25  are  girls. 
The  course  is  much  the  same  for  both;  but  when 
the  boys  are  at  manual  work,  the  girls  take  domestic 
economy.  The  principal,  Mr.  Sidney  Wells,  to  whose 
organizing  ability  much  of  the  success  of  the  Poly- 
technic is  due,  states  that  up  to  July,  1896,  there  were 
6500  class  entries  representing  2700  individuals,  of 
whom  1042  (about  two-fifths)  were  women.  All  classes 
are  open  to  them,  but  naturally  they  do  not  attend 
certain  trade  classes. 


2o8         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

The  School  of  Domestic  Economy,  at  Battersea, 
under  Miss  Corbold,  is  important,  because  not  only  are 
Training  School  students  taught,  but  a  certain  number 
of  Domestic  are  trained  to  become  teachers  of  the 

Economy.  different   subjects.     The    training   ex- 

tends over  two  years,  embracing  cookery,  laundry  work, 
dress  cutting,  hygiene,  and  housewifery.  The  London 
Technical  Education  Board  offers  valuable  training 
scholarships  in  Domestic  Economy,  to  be  held  at 
Battersea.  The  Technical  Board  estimated  to  spend 
;£'42oo  on  the  teaching  of  Domestic  Economy  in 
1896-97  in  London.  Very  considerable  grants  are 
also  given  towards  the  provision  of  teaching  in  Science, 
Art,  and  Domestic  Economy  in  girls'  secondary  schools, 
which,  mutatis  mutandis^  are  treated  in  precisely  the 
same  manner  as  the  secondary  schools  for  boys. 

It  scarcely  needs  to  be  said  that  the  work  of  the 
London  Technical  Education  Board  is  only  a  section 
of  the  technical  instruction  now  being  given  throughout 
the  country.  Much  of  this  work  is  new ;  according  to 
its  critics,  some  of  it  is  crude;  and  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  certain  experiments  will  be  abandoned 
or  greatly  modified.  Yet  it  has  seemed  wiser,  on  the 
whole,  to  enter  into  a  little  fuller  detail  as  to  the 
work  of  one  Board,  in  order  to  indicate  its  methods, 
and  the  possibilities  that  suggest  themselves,  rather  than 
attempt  to  trace  the  work  done  all  over  the  country, 
which,  to  be  useful,  would  require,  at  the  least,  a  volume 
to  itself. 

As  already  shewn,  the  Birkbeck  literary  and  Scientific 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       209 

Institution  has  special  claims  to  the  gratitude  of  women, 
The  Birkbeck  since  it  was  the  first  educational 
Literary  and  institution  to  open  its  doors  to  them 

Scientific  jn  the  field  of  higher  education.     It 

Institution.  u  v  •        o  u        t^ 

began  its  career  m  1823,  when  Dr. 

George  Birkbeck,  of  Glasgow,  founded  it  in  Southampton 
Buildings.  Its  remarkable  energy  has  permitted  it  to 
survive,  and  even  to  increase  greatly  in  numbers  and 
efficiency,  although  a  host  of  similar  institutions  have 
arisen  in  or  near  London.  At  first  the  Birkbeck  was  a 
Mechanics'  Institute,  and  so  remained  for  many  years ; 
but  to-day  it  would  seem  to  be  more  used  by  the  middle 
classes,  although  it  is  open  to  all.  Though  here  classed 
under  the  heading  of  Technical  Education,  being 
assisted  by  the  London  Technical  Education  Board, 
and  having  a  strong  science  side,  the  Birkbeck  Institu- 
tion is  quite  as  strong  in  arts,  having,  out  of  a  total  of 
4400  class  entries,  almost  1000  for  the  study  of 
languages,  besides  many  students  in  law,  mental 
science,  music,  and  a  complete  course  of  English 
subjects.  A  notable  feature  is  the  excellent  preparation 
for  London  University  Examinations.  The  Science 
and  Technology  subjects  number  twenty-eight,  and  are 
open  to  all  without  distinction  of  sex.  The  buildings, 
situated  in  Bream's  Buildings,  Chancery  Lane,  since 
1885,  are  rather  spacious  and  convenient  than  elegant. 
There  is  an  important  School  of  Art  in  the  Institution, 
chemical  and  physical  laboratories,  reading-rooms  used 
by  both  sexes,  with  an  excellent  lecture  theatre.  The 
principal  is  Mr.  G.  Armitage-Smith,  M.A. 


210         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

No  description  of  technical  instruction  in  England 
would  be  complete  without  some  allusion  to  the  work 
City  and  Guilds  undertaken  by  the  City  and  Guilds 
of  London  of    London    Institute,    although    the 

Institute.  share   of  women   in   the   Institute   is 

very  small.  It  is  significant  that  a  small  town  like 
Ziirich  founded  its  Ecole  Polytechnique  Federale  in 
1855;  America  its  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology 
in  1861 ;  whereas  London  only  began  to  think  of  its 
Technical  College  in  1876.  The  City  and  Guilds  of 
London  Institute  is  an  association  of  the  Livery 
Companies  of  London,  founded  in  1878;  the  offices 
of  the  Institute  are  at  Gresham  College,  and  its  several 
branches  of  work  are  as  follows : 

{a)  The  Central  Technical  College^  an  imposing  red 
brick  building  in  Exhibition  Road,  Kensington,  opened 
in  1884,  provides  education  for  those  who  already 
possess  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  science  or  the  arts  to 
enable  them  to  profit  by  instruction  in  the  industrial 
applications  of  these.  The  college  exists  largely  for 
the  training  of  engineers,  managers  of  works,  responsible 
foremen,  and  technical  chemists.  The  course  lasts 
about  three  years.  In  December,  1896,  there  were 
over  200  students,  of  whom  three  were  women. 

{b)  The  Technical  College^  Finsbury,  opened  in  1883, 
is  of  a  lower  grade  than  the  Central  Technical  College, 
and  has  an  evening  department  for  apprentices  and 
others  engaged  during  the  day.  There  are  almost  11 00 
day  and  evening  students,  about  a  dozen  of  whom  are 
women  attending  the  art  department  in  the  evening. 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       211 

{c)  In  1879  The  South  London  Technical  Art  School 
was  established  by  the  Institute  in  Kennington  Park 
Road.  As  its  title  implies,  it  is  more  concerned  with 
decorative  art  than  the  other  colleges  of  the  trio. 

The  technological  examinations,  mostly  held  at  353 
centres  in  the  United  Kingdom,  form  an  important  part 
of  the  work  of  the  Institute.  In  1895  there  were  about 
25,000  students  in  attendance,  in  739  classes  throughout 
the  kingdom;  at  the  examinations,  candidates  worked 
more  than  10,000  papers.  The  Institute  attaches  im- 
portance to  manual  training,  and  holds  examinations  in 
this  subject  also.  The  subjects  of  examination  number 
more  than  sixty,  and  embrace  soap  manufacture, 
bread-making,  electric  lighting,  goldsmiths'  work,  slate 
quarrying,  dressmaking. 

The  Swedish  system  of  manual  training,  known  as 
Sloyd,  in  use  at  Herr  Otto  Salomon's  seminary  at  Naas, 
g.     .  Sweden,  is  only  indirectly  related  to 

technical  instruction,  its  aims  being 
much  wider.  Sloyd  is  derived  from  a  Swedish  word 
meaning  dexterous,  and  is  related  to  the  English  sleight, 
in  sleight  of  hand.  But  those  who  advocate  Sloyd 
claim  for  it  far  more  than  the  attainment  of  mere 
manual  dexterity.  The  pupil  gradually  obtains  higher 
mental  powers  by  a  series  of  steps  in  which  hand,  eye, 
brain,  and  judgment  are  equally  exercised.  Sloyd 
advocates  claim  that  it  is  an  important  factor  in  the 
physical  development  of  a  child,  over  and  above  manual 
dexterity;  it  supplements  gymnastics.  Its  mental  and 
moral  advantages  are  the  cultivation  of  attention  and 


212  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

interest,*  the  development  of  the  powers  of  observation, 
of  accuracy,  practical  common  sense,  perseverance,  and 
patience.  It  is  clear  therefore  that  the  Sloyd  system  is 
not  merely  preparation  for  a  trade,  but  a  system 
graduated  and  developed  on  truly  educational  lines. 
It  is  specially  suitable  for  boys  and  girls  from  about 
the  age  of  eleven  onwards.  Miss  Chapman  claimed 
a  few  years  ago  that  a  thousand  Swedish  national 
schools  had  adopted  Sloyd.  In  England  it  has  not 
obtained  so  warm  a  reception,  though  many  educationists 
are  firm  believers  in  its  excellence.  A  Sloyd  Association 
of  about  300  members  works  to  spread  the  system. 
Classes  may  now  be  found  in  training  colleges  for 
teachers,  as  well  as  in  schools  of  all  grades.  In  1893 
the  Science  and  Art  Department  recognized  Sloyd  as  a 
grant-earning  subject,  and  it  is  expected  to  spread  more 
rapidly  in  the  future  than  has  yet  been  the  case.  Mr. 
T.  G.  Rooper,  H.M.  Inspector  of  Schools,  alludes  to 
Sloyd  in  these  terms  in  the  Blue  Book  of  1893:  "I 
hope  that  this  valuable  form  of  mental,  moral,  and 
manual  discipline  is  taking  firm  root.  Of  all  the 
schools  of  manual  training  with  which  I  am  acquainted, 
I  find  Sloyd  to  be  the  most  effective  for  developing 
delicacy  of  manipulation,  thoroughness  of  workmanship, 
and  truth  in  the  senses  of  touch  and  sight."  At  Naas 
four  courses  of  training  for  teachers,  lasting  six  weeks 
each,  are  given  every  year ;  advantage  is  taken  of  them 
by  a  considerable  number  of  British  students. 

*  See  the  paper  read  by  Miss  E.  P.  Hughes,  of  Cambridge,  at 
the  College  of  Preceptors.     (W.  Sotheran  &  Co.,  Petergate,  York.) 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       213 

Under    the    same    roof   as    the    Central   Technical 
College,   but   not    otherwise    connected    with    it,   is  a 

School  of  Art  Wood  Carving,  under 
School  of  Art         _  _.       _,  r\  ^     c 

Wood  Carving.      ^^^^   ^^^^  ^^  manager.      Out  of  a 

total  of  316  students  in  1895,  256 
were  women,  the  remaining  60  being  men.  The  latter 
are  about  equally  divided  as  professional  and  amateur 
carvers,  whereas  about  two-thirds  of  the  women  are 
amateurs.  The  remaining  third,  some  eighty  in  all, 
are  training  as  professional  carvers,  or  as  teachers  of 
carving.  Women  have  no  great  opening  as  carvers; 
they  are  not  admitted  to  the  trade  workshops.  Even 
if  these  were  open,  it  is  doubtful  whether  women's 
strength  could  stand  the  wear  and  tear  the  work 
necessitates.  A  man  can  work  for  nine  or  ten  hours, 
whereas  few  women  seem  to  be  able  to  put  in  more 
than  six,  and  of  course  this  results  in  carving  not  being 
sufficiently  remunerative  to  women.  A  few  women 
have  opened  studios  of  their  own;  but  here  again  the 
difficulty  of  getting  good  pay  for  good  work  besets 
them.  Women,  as  one  would  expect,  make  excellent 
teachers  of  the  subject,  having  sympathy  with  the 
difficulties  of  a  learner,  and  a  fair  number  obtain  their 
training  in  this  school.  One  of  its  main  objects  is  to 
raise  the  old  art  of  wood  carving  into  the  position  it 
enjoyed  in  olden  times,  if  possible.  A  yearly  examina- 
tion is  held  in  which  the  student  has  to  submit  a  certain 
number  of  carved  examples ;  to  carve  a  panel  from  a 
drawing  or  a  photo  in  a  given  time ;  to  be  examined  in 
scale  drawing,  i.e.  drawing  a  chest  or  cupboard  to  scale ; 


214  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

to  sketch  a  suitable  carved  decoration,  and  to  answer  a 
paper  of  technical  questions. 

The  work  of  the  Home  Arts  and  Industries  Association 
deserves  brief  mention,  since  out  of  about  4000  members 
Home  Arts  and  ^^  some  400  classes  held  all  over  the 
Industries  country,   nearly  a   half   are   women; 

Association.  besides  which,  women  are  largely  class- 

holders  and  teachers.  The  Association  was  founded 
in  1 884,  and  aims  at  the  revival  or  teaching  of  the  minor 
arts  to  the  working  classes,  thus  spreading  a  knowledge 
of  artistic  handiwork  among  the  people.  Such  arts  are 
carpentry  of  various  kinds,  including  inlay,  repousse  work 
in  brass  and  copper,  bent  iron,  hand  spinning  and 
weaving,  embroidery,  sewing,  pottery,  leather  work, 
wood  carving,  mosaic  setting,  basket  making.  Teachers 
of  these  arts  are  voluntary  or  paid ;  in  the  latter  case 
usually  the  class-holder  is  responsible  for  payment, 
either  paying  the  teacher  herself,  or  obtaining  funds 
for  the  purpose,  or  charging  a  fee  to  members  of  the 
class.  Teachers  are  sometimes  paid  by  grants  from  the 
County  Council.  The  work  is  very  valuable  for  young 
persons  who  have  left  school  and  have  spare  time, 
especially  for  those  in  rural  districts  where  amusements 
and  educational  facilities  are  scarce.  The  Association 
may  be  said  to  work  most  successfully  in  small  places, 
where  the  class-holder  is  enthusiastic  and  competent. 
A  great  improvement  has  been  visible  of  recent  years  in 
the  work  produced,  which  may  be  seen  at  the  annual 
exhibition  of  Home  Arts  and  Industries  held  in  June 
in  the  Royal  Albert  Hall.     Women  do  not  solely  take 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       215 

up  the  feminine  industries  named,  such  as  weaving; 
they  have  been  very  successful  in  wood  carving,  basket- 
work,  bookbinding,  and  other  work. 

Excellent  technical  instruction  is  given  in  the  Man- 
chester Technical  Schools;  at  Sheffield,  in  Firth  College; 
at  Newcastle;  and,  indeed,  fairly  good  provision  is 
found  in  most  of  the  large  towns,  especially  in 
Birmingham.  But,  of  course,  results  are  not  equal 
all  over  the  country.  A  considerable  number  of  local 
(borough)  authorities  levy  a  rate  for  the  purposes  of  the 
Technical  Instruction  Act;  the  borough  of  Preston  at 
one  time  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  having  the  only 
Council  which  does  not  use  the  "whiskey  money"  for 
educational  purposes. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  does  not  follow,  because 
large  sums  are  being  spent  upon  technical  instruction, 
Share  of  Women  ^^^^  women  are  greatly  benefiting 
in  Technical  by  such   expenditure.     Economically, 

Instruction.  women   are   the   poor   sex,  and   they 

are  poor  for  two  reasons.  Custom  sanctions  a  lower 
wage  for  them  than  men,  even  when  they  are  doing 
the  same  work  equally  well.  But  women  who  are 
properly  qualified  for  their  work  suffer  because  other 
women  are  not  competent,  and  because  their  sex  is 
in  a  growing  majority.  So  far  as  relief  of  the  women's 
labour  market  is  concerned,  few  things  would  produce 
a  better  result  than  recognition  of  the  need  of  training 
and  of  specialization,  of  excellence  in  one  department. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  doubt  that  if  a  woman 
marries,  a  wider  general  knowledge,  training  in  a  course 


2i6  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

of  domestic  economy,  is  more  valuable  to  her.  Apart 
from  considerations  of  culture,  men  find  "  multum,  non 
multa"  most  advantageous;  and  so  would  women,  if  they 
had  not  to  choose  between  the  labour  market  and  the 
prospect  of  marriage.  For  women  who  marry,  "  multa, 
non  multum  "  is  a  far  more  suitable  educational  maxim. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  may  be  justifiable  to  ask 
whether  women  in  the  labour  market  will  be  materially 
Domestic  benefited  by  the  extension  of  domestic 

Economy  and  economy  training  to  every  girl.  It 
Bread-winning.  ^^^  ^^  advisable,  and  even  praise- 
worthy, for  all  to  cook,  sew,  do  laundry  work  and 
dressmaking ;  but,  unless  there  is  a  rise  in  the  popularity 
of  domestic  service,  one  scarcely  sees  how  a  girl's  place 
in  the  labour  market  will  be  affected.  She  has  nothing 
to  offer  but  what  everyone  else  is  offering. 

The  Women's  Local  Government  Society  has  been 
at  some  trouble  to  conduct  an  inquiry  as  to  how  far 
County  Councils  women  and  girls  share  in  the  technical 
and  Women's  education  provided  by  County  and 
Education.  Borough     Councils.       In     a     leaflet 

published  by  the  Society  in  1895,  it  appears  that  com- 
paratively few  Councils  place  women  on  their  Technical 
Instruction  Committees.  In  forty -nine  cases,  such 
Committees  added  persons  other  than  Councillors  to 
their  numbers,  but  no  women.  Out  of  124  County 
and  Borough  Councils,  it  is  stated  that  only  eighteen 
give  equal  educational  advantages  to  the  sexes.  A  few 
give  nothing  or  next  to  nothing  to  girls;  the  large 
majority   give    something,   mostly    domestic    economy, 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       217 

nursing,  dairy  work.  The  inference  of  the  Women's 
Local  Government  Society  is  that  women  should  claim 
to  sit  on  the  local  authorities,  as  the  best  method  of 
safeguarding  the  interests  of  their  sex.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  the  technical  education  movement  theoretically 
professes  to  embrace  history,  languages,  literature ; 
but  practically  few  Councils  or  Committees  spare  funds 
for  the  arts,  even  though  they  interpret  the  word 
"  technical "  as  widely  as  possible.  Now  these  subjects 
are  usually  more  affected  by  women  than  men.  Yet 
even  if  a  greater  expenditure  were  incurred  for  them 
in  such  subjects,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  their 
position  in  the  labour  market  would  be  affected,  or 
fresh  employment  be  opened  up  to  them.  It  would, 
however,  contribute  to  a  better  general  education  of 
the  sex.  On  the  whole,  even  though  Borough  Councils 
remain  closed  to  women,  it  must  be  admitted  that  they 
have  scarcely  succeeded  in  making  their  weight  felt  in 
this  recent  allocation  of  public  money  for  educational 
purposes,  or  in  expressing  their  wishes,  supposing  them 
to  have  any. 

The  Report  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Secondary 
Education,  1894-95,  lays  great  stress  not  only  on  the 
Variety  of  ^^P^  ^"^  °^^  educational   system,  but 

Technical  on   the   overlapping,  the  unnecessary 

Instruction  competition  it  engenders,  and  on  the 

utnori  es.  noit^  of  organization.      A  survey  of 

the  field  of  Technical  Education  shows  this  clearly. 
The  Science  and  Art  Department  is  the  central  authority 
for  Technical  Education;  it  is  its  raison  d^etre.    The 


2x8  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

Education  Department  finds  it  necessary  to  have  tech- 
nical subjects  in  its  newly-organized  evening  continuation 
schools;  it  sanctions  and  pays  for  quite  a  scheme  of 
technical  instruction  for  small  girls  in  elementary  day 
schools.  There  is  scarcely  a  large  town  that  has  not 
some  scheme  of  technical  instruction  to  suit  its  local 
needs ;  for  example,  the  Firth  College  at  Sheffield, 
Mason  College  at  Birmingham,  Yorkshire  College, 
Leeds,  are  successfully  carried  on  by  private  or 
municipal  enterprise,  or  both  combined.  It  would  be 
wrong  to  omit  mention  of  School  Boards,  and  their 
share  in  Technical  Education;  for  though  the  Depart- 
ment is  their  central  authority,  not  infrequently  they 
assume  the  initiative,  and  only  require  its  sanction  for 
their  work  in  higher  grade  schools.  The  University 
Extension  movement,  as  is  well  known,  must  needs 
embrace  technical  subjects  in  its  curriculum,  else  its 
usefulness  would  be  greatly  hindered.  When  during 
its  career  it  throws  off  colleges  like  the  University 
College  at  Nottingham,  the  Firth  at  Sheffield,  or  when 
it  works  them  successfully  as  at  Reading  and  Exeter, 
such  subjects  have  to  be  well  to  the  front.  Nor  does 
the  Charity  Commission  disdain  to  meddle  with 
technical  instruction  in  its  schemes  for  Secondary 
Education,  since  it  is  bound  to  consider  a  neighbour- 
hood's needs.  Frequently  it  has  aided  polytechnics, 
institutes,  and  schools  by  appropriating  trust  money 
to  Technical  Education.  Lastly,  we  find  the  County 
Councils  with  a  fresh  power  in  their  hands,  the  em- 
ployment of  funds  for  Technical  Education. 


TECHNICO-PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION       219 

The  need  for  organizing  and  co-ordinating  the  work 
of    so    many    and    such    various    authorities    scarcely 

requires  mention.     It  is  now  recog- 
Necessity  for 
Organization.  "^^^^  ^^^^  h^ioxQ  long  every  locality, 

borough,    county,    or     district    must 

needs  have  its  own  local  educational  authority;  and  a 

central  authority  must  also  be  organized  to  co-ordinate 

the  work  of  the  Education  Department,  the  Science  and 

Art  Department,  and  the  Charity  Commission,  as  well  as 

to  assume  fresh  powers  over  Secondary  Education. 

One  of  the  most  recent  developments  necessary  to  chronicle  here 

is  the  opening  of  the  London  School  of  Economics  and  Political 

,       J       c  1-     1     r    Science  in  October,   1895.     As  is  usual  in 
London  School  of      ,  ,  ,        ,  ,  , .  j    .1 

P  .  ,         educational  matters,  we  lagged  behmd  other 

p  ....     .  ^  .  countries  in  offering  organized  instruction  in 

these  subjects ;  on  the  other  hand,  notable 
progress  has  been  made  in  a  very  short  time.  The  Director,  Mr. 
W.  A.  S.  Hewins,  reports  that  during  the  first  year  300  students 
enrolled  themselves  in  the  School,  of  whom  100  took  whole  or  part 
of  the  three  years'  course ;  seventy- five  students  were  women.  The 
School  is  already  the  largest  centre  of  systematic  training  in  its 
special  subjects  in  the  United  Kingdom.  The  work  is  of  University 
standard,  and  many  of  the  students  are  graduates  of  British  or 
foreign  Universities.  The  lecture-list  is  large;  for  the  Lent  term 
of  1897  it  covered  such  subjects  as  Geographical  Conditions  of  the 
Seven  Great  Powers,  Machinery  of  Administration  in  England, 
Problems  of  Trade  Unionism,  History  of  English  Political  Ideas 
during  the  Great  Rebellion,  Banking  and  Currency,  Railway 
Economics  and  Statistics,  Principles  of  Local  Government,  Local 
Taxation,  Palseography  and  Diplomatics,  and  so  forth. 

An  excellent  Library  of  Political  Science  exists  in  connection 
with  the  London  School  of  Economics,  in  Adelphi  Terrace,  Strand, 
which  will  eventually  become  very  extensive.  It  is  generously 
intended  for  the  free  use  of  persons  engaged  in  public  administra- 
tion, national  or  municipal,  and  of  all  students  of  Economic  or 
Political  Science. 


CONCLUSION 

"'TpHERE  is  now  no  such  thing  as  a  'Woman's 
X  Education  Question'  apart  from  that  of 
education  generally,"  wrote  Mrs.  William  Grey  to 
Miss  Buss  in  1881.  Her  prophetic  eye,  cheered  by 
the  sight  of  many  doors  opening  to  her  sex,  foresaw 
the  day  when  useless  distinction  shall  no  longer  be 
drawn.  An  attempt  has  been  made  to  shew  briefly 
that  though  the  day  has  dawned,  it  is  not  yet  noon. 

In  Primary  Education  we  see  the  great  educational 
principle  which  forbids  too  early  specialization,  flung 
to  the  winds  in  the  case  of  girls ;  we  see  a  failure  to 
attempt  the  cultivation  of  the  powers  of  observation, 
in  that  drawing  is  not  compulsory  for  them.  In 
Secondary  Education  it  is  difficult  to  generalize,  for 
the  variety  of  schools  is  very  great,  and  usually  those 
who  know  about  boys'  schools  do  not  know  about 
girls'. 

It  is  probably  true  that  the  best  girls'  schools  are 
equal  to  the  best  boys'  schools ;  indeed,  some  authori- 
ties are  heard  to  declare  that  the  former  are  superior. 
Yet  here  it  must  be  remembered  that  girls'  first-class 
schools  are  fewer  in  number  than  good  boys'  schools. 
In  Technical  Education,  which  the  Royal  Commission 
220 


CONCLUSION  221 

of  1894-95  declared  to  be  a  branch  of  Secondary 
Education,  women  have  not  obtained  a  fair  share  of 
the  opportunities  afforded,  probably  because  they  have 
not  clearly  indicated  their  wants. 

Turning  to  Higher  Education,  we  find  a  wide 
discrepancy  between  the  numbers  of  men  and  women 
students.  The  sexes  are  represented  at  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  as  6000  to  400  in  round  numbers.  The 
opening  of  more  employments  to  women,  and  higher 
rewards  for  their  labour,  are  of  prime  necessity  as 
direct  incentives  to  women's  education.  A  woman 
can  no  more,  indeed  rather  less,  afford  to  throw  away 
an  expensive  training  than  can  a  man.  Some  substan- 
tial advantage  must  lie  at  the  end  of  it.  A  fair 
number  of  women  have  now  received  an  excellent 
training  in  natural  science,  holding  the  B.Sc.  of 
Cambridge  or  London.  Hardly  any  employment  is 
open  to  such  women  save  that  of  science  mistress, 
with  the  modest  salary  of  ;£ioo.  Attention  has  been 
drawn  to  the  fact  that  occasionally,  as  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  head  teachers  of  art  schools,  the  best  posts 
are  still  closed  to  women  in  certain  branches.  This 
is  not  entirely  due  to  mascuHne  selfishness ;  public 
opinion  and  custom  are  also  factors.  Women  are 
largely  shut  out  of  administration,  which,  according 
to  many  high  authorities,  Ruskin  amongst  them,  is 
their  great  talent.  Scarcely  anything  is  given  to  them 
in  the  Education  Department,  including  South  Ken- 
sington. The  exceptions  have  been  noted  in  their 
place.     Women  are  shut  out  of  almost  all  the  medical 


222  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

schools  in  the  provinces.  Great  as  is  the  progress  that 
has  been  made,  many  things  yet  remain  to  be  done. 

I  have  endeavoured  to  avoid  the  implication  or 
suggestion  that  the  education  of  women  is,  at  bottom, 
a  sex  question.  So  far  is  it  from  being  a  blow  aimed 
by  women  at  the  supremacy  of  the  privileged  sex,  that 
the  movement  has  really  been  begun  by  men.  From 
Comenius  and  Erasmus  downwards,  a  section  of  edu- 
cated men  have  struggled  for  the  acknowledgment  of 
women's  claim  to  education  as  many  of  them  have 
never  dreamt  of  doing.  Without  the  loyal  and  generous 
aid  that  men  have  given,  nothing  could  have  been  done. 
In  many  cases  it  was  not  help  that  was  rendered  :  it  was 
even  the  initiation  of  a  reform.  To  those  who  have 
followed  the  movement  for  women's  education,  mention 
of  how  the  matter  really  stands  is  about  as  necessary 
as  to  allude  to  the  fact  that  Queen  Anne  is  dead. 

Yet  whilst  sex  is  not  the  true  dividing  line  on  this, 
or  indeed  on  most  other  matters,  it  is  useless  to  shut 
our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  men  of  a  certain  stamp,  not 
usually  themselves  intellectual,  are  jealous  of  women's 
attainments,  and  assume  a  discouraging  attitude. 
Similarly,  a  large  number  of  women  find  that  igno- 
rance, real  or  pretended,  is  a  recommendation.  It  is 
difficult  to  think  of  any  wider  cause  of  the  low  level 
of  general  culture  than  this,  though  it  has  obviously 
lessened  with  the  march  of  the  century. 

So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  discover,  women's 
education  makes  the  most  sure  advance  where  women 
officer  largely   or   entirely  the  educational  institutions 


CONCLUSION  223 

which  have  been  called  into  existence,  where  they  sit 
upon  the  committee  of  management,  and  take  a  large 
share  of  the  teaching.  The  reason  of  this  appears  to 
be  that  girls  are  more  encouraged  by  what  women  can 
do  than  by  what  men  have  done.  It  would  be  invidious 
to  point  to  institutions  which  have  failed  to  keep  pace 
with  the  times  because  the  necessity  of  giving  women 
a  large  share  of  the  work  has  not  been  grasped;  but 
it  would  be  possible  to  do  so.  So  great  is  the  hope- 
fulness of  the  women  engaged  in  the  education  of  their 
sex,  so  powerful  is  their  example  to  stimulate  those 
under  their  care,  so  able  are  they  to  deal  with  the 
various  difficulties  that  arise,  that  the  success  of  the 
movement  seems  only  assured  when  it  remains  largely 
in  women's  own  hands.  It  is  sometimes  said,  and  with 
a  certain  amount  of  truth,  that  the  great  advance  in 
education  has  called  forth  a  new  type  of  woman,  strong, 
just,  capable.  Probably  the  type  was  never  lost;  it 
existed  far  back  in  our  history.  But  for  the  last  two 
or  three  hundred  years,  opportunities  for  exercising 
women's  abilities  have  been  lacking.  Where  the  home 
did  not  absorb  them,  energy  and  capacity  must  have 
been  largely  wasted. 

In  speaking  with  men  and  women  of  other  nations, 
and  comparing  some  of  the  points  of  difference  in 
educational  methods,  more  than  one  educationist  has 
observed  to  me :  "Our  system  looks  well  on  paper."  Now 
this  is  what  the  English  system,  if  the  expression  may 
be  permitted,  does  not  do.  No  attempt  has  here  been 
made  to  conceal  its  anomalies,  insufficiency,  inefficiency. 


224  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

its  weakness,  the  narrowness  of  the  area  marked  by 
real  excellence.  Yet  to  those  who  can  interpret  the 
signs,  it  is  certain  that  something  great  will  work  itself 
out,  and  is  even  now  in  the  casting.  It  was  said  of 
Louis  XIV.  by  a  judge  of  character :  "  II  se  mettra  tard 
en  route,  mais  il  y  arrivera  "  \  and  this  forecast  will  be 
true  of  English  education.  For  we  shall  profit  by  the 
mistakes  that  other  nations  have  committed,  making 
haste  slowly ;  above  all,  we  shall  aim  at  conserving  the 
genius  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  its  individuality,  self- 
reliance,  power  to  assume  the  initiative. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  EngUsh  people  to  be  highly 
critical  of  themselves  and  their  performances.  We  laud 
the  educational  systems  of  France  and  Germany,  largely 
because  we  do  not  know  them.  And  yet  France,  who 
is  far  from  being  blind  to  our  national  peculiarities, 
sends  over  M.  Max  Leclerc  to  inquire  how  men  are 
made  in  England.  His  mission  is  thus  summed  up 
by  M.  Emil  Boutmy,  in  the  preface  of  the  book  he 
has  written  :*  "Where  on  the  other  side  of  the  Channel 
are  the  upper  and  middle  classes  educated  and  formed 
from  which  political  life  draws  its  parliamentary  repre- 
sentatives and  diplomats,  the  administration  its  officials, 
the  army  and  navy  their  officers,  industry  its  leaders, 
commerce  its  merchants,  philosophy  such  profound 
thinkers,  literature,  history,  science,  such  original  talent  ? 
What  means  of  preparation  have  been  at  the  disposal 
of  this  elite^  whom  we  meet  in  all  the  quarters  of  the 

*  V Education  en  Angleterre.  By  Max  Leclerc  ;  preface  by 
Emil  Boutmy.    Armand  Colin  et  Cie.,  Paris. 


CONCLUSION  225 

globe,  ever  ready,  never  lacking,  adapted  to  every  variety 
of  the  work  awaiting  them,  indefatigable  builders  of  the 
national  greatness?  What  do  these  men  owe  to  the 
family,  to  public  spirit,  to  the  school  and  their  masters  ? 
What  have  the  State  and  legislation  done  for  them  ?" 

M.  Max  Leclerc  has  a  good  deal  to  say  about  the 
insufficiency,  incoherence,  and  lack  of  adaptation  in 
English  education ;  but  he  has  also  somewhat  to  say 
touching  our  physical  energy,  moral  force,  individuality 
left  uncramped  by  a  uniform  artificial  type,  our  saving 
idea  that  education  does  not  end  with  school  life.  We 
shall  do  well  to  note  not  only  the  faults,  but  the 
excellencies  of  English  education,  in  order  that  the 
wheat  may  not  be  pulled  up  with  the  tares. 

If  this  attempt  to  report  progress  in  women's  educa- 
tion had  been  written  fifty  years  ago,  the  task  would 
have  been  a  very  brief  one.  The  Birkbeck  Institution 
had  opened  its  doors  to  women.  The  Governesses' 
Benevolent  Institution  had  begun  to  think  that  poverty 
and  incompetence  were  not  unconnected.  In  fifty 
more  years  will  women  have  travelled  as  fast  and  as 
far  ?  The  answer  is  doubtful ;  but  it  is  safe  to  prophesy 
that  before  then  the  barriers  will  have  been  all  thrown 
down.  The  tools  will  be  for  him,  and  even  for  her, 
who  can  use  them. 


PART    II. 

EDUCATION  IN  SCOTLAND 

Part   II.    has  been   kindly   contributed    to   this    little 
volume — 

Primary  and  Secondary  Education 

By  Mr.  G.  W.  Alexander,  Clerk  to  the  School 
Board  of  Glasgow. 

Higher  and  Technico-Professional  Education 
By  Miss  Jane   Galloway,   Hon.  Sec.   to  Queen 
Margaret  College,  Glasgow. 


PART   II. 
EDUCATION   IN   SCOTLAND 

Section  I. 
ptimati^  ]£t)ucatton 

In  Scotland,  as  in  England,  education  in  its  beginnings 
is  associated  with  the  monasteries.  Their  schools  were 
intended  primarily  for  the  training  of  those  who  meant 
to  devote  themselves  to  the  service  of  the  Church,  but 
in  time  they  came  to  be  taken  advantage  of  by  the 
upper  classes.  As  the  demand  for  education  increased, 
the  monks  instituted  schools  in  the  towns  adjoining 
the  monasteries,  and  in  these  the  Burgh  or  High 
schools  of  Scotland  appear  to  have  had  their  origin. 
Frequently  also  schools  seem  to  have  been  carried  on 
in  connection  with  the  country  churches,  and  many 
of  these  were  gifted  to  the  monasteries,  and  so  came 
under  their  supervision.  In  this  way  it  became  true 
that  "  before  the  Reformation  it  was  the  monk,  and 
not  the  parish  priest,  who  held  the  ecclesiastical  power, 
and  played  the  chief  part  in  the  history  of  education."* 

*  History  of  Early  Scottish  Education.     By  J.  Edgar,  m.a. 
229 


230  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  education  in  Scotland 
prior  to  the  Reformation  is  scarcely  worthy  of  notice; 

but    Mr.    Grant,    in    his    History   of 
Schools.  Burgh  Schools,  and  Mr.  Edgar  show 

that  the  early  records  prove  the 
existence  long  before  the  Reformation  of  four  kinds 
of  schools  :  (i)  Parish  schools,  under  the  instruction 
or  supervision  of  the  parish  priest;  (2)  Cathedral 
schools  ;  (3)  Collegiate  schools,  connected  with 
churches  having  a  college  or  chapter;  and  (4)  Sang 
schools,  of  which  the  primary  function  was  music. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  John  Knox,  instead  of 
requiring  to  break  fresh  ground,  had  already  a  sub- 
stantial basis  for  the  system  he  sought  to  establish. 
Indeed,  as  early  as  1494,  when  James  IV.  was  king, 
we  have  provision  made  for  the  compulsory  attendance 
of  certain  classes,  a  statute  being  passed  which  required 
all  barons  and  freeholders  of  substance  to  send  their 
eldest  sons  to  school  from  the  age  of  six  or  nine  until 
"  they  be  competentlie  founded  and  have  perfite  Latine." 
The  penalty  for  disobedience  was  twenty  pounds.  No 
special  provision  appears  to  have  been  made  for  girls, 
but  there  is  evidence  that  at  all  events  the  daughters 
of  the  wealthier  classes  shared  in  such  education  as  was 
considered  essential  at  the  time. 

The  Reformation,  while  it  appears  to  have  robbed 
education  of  the   endowments   it  enjoyed   through  its 

connection  with  the   Church,  gave  a 

Landowners  and  ,   .         ,       ,     .,         4.  ur  u-         r 

g,       .  great  impetus  to  the  establishmg  ot  a 

national  system.     The  First  Book  of 


PRIMARY  EDUCATION  231 

Discipline^  published  by  the  Reformed  Church  in  1560, 
provided  for  a  school  in  every  parish  and  town,  as  well 
as  "colleges"  in  the  "notable"  towns.  The  General 
Assembly  of  the  Church  did  what  it  could  to  carry  out 
this  scheme,  but  it  had  no  power  to  levy  assessments ; 
and  although  in  1616  the  Privy  Council  passed  a  decree 
obliging  each  parish  to  maintain  a  school  and  school- 
master, the  decree  was  not  confirmed  by  Parliament 
till  1633.  The  subsequent  political  turmoil  stood  in 
the  way  of  educational  advancement ;  it  was  not  till 
after  the  Revolution  that  the  State  succeeded  in 
making  general  provision  for  the  instruction  of  the 
people,  and  placed  education  in  a  position  to  secure 
its  regular  development.  In  1696  an  Act  was  passed 
which  laid  upon  the  heritors  or  landowners  of  every 
parish  the  duty  of  providing  a  school  and  appointing 
a  schoolmaster.  The  salary  was  not  to  be  less  than 
100  merks  (;^5  iis.  i^d.),  nor  more  than  200  merks 
(;^ii  2S.  2|d.).  The  Presbyteries  had  power  to  compel 
the  heritors  to  carry  out  the  Act,  and  they  were  also 
entrusted  with  the  superintendence  of  the  schools  so 
established.  This  right  of  superintendence  of  the 
parish  schools  remained  with  the  Presbyteries  until 
1872,  though  it  was  slightly  modified  in  1861. 

For  more  than  one  hundred  years  after  1696,  the 
State  did  nothing  further  for  education  in  Scotland. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  the  progress 
of  the  nation  made  fresh  provision  absolutely  necessary. 
In  1803  an  Act  was  passed  by  which  a  school-house 
was  to  be  provided  in  every  parish  where  none  already 


232  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

existed;  and  in  large  or  populous  parishes  additional 
schools,  generally  known  as  side  schools,  were  to  be 
supplied.  The  salary  of  the  schoolmaster  was  raised 
to  not  less  than  300  nor  more  than  400  merks,  and 
was  to  be  fixed  by  the  heritors  and  minister.  To 
this  were  added  a  free  house  and  garden  and  school 
fees.  The  latter  were  also  fixed  by  the  heritors  and 
minister,  and  the  schoolmaster  was  obliged  to  teach 
such  poor  children  as  they  recommended.  "The 
schoolmaster's  house  and  plot  of  garden  ground  was  a 
feature  of  each  Scotch  parish,  along  with  the  minister's 
manse  and  glebe ;  and,  like  the  minister,  the  teacher 
was  a  freeholder.  The  parish  school  was,  in  short, 
an  adjunct  of  the  parish  church.  The  teacher  was 
examined  and  approved  by  the  Presbytery.  The 
minister  was  an  elector  along  with  the  heritors.  To 
him  the  general  superintendence  of  the  school  was 
assigned.  And,  lastly,  the  teacher  was  required  to 
subscribe  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  the  formula 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland."  "**■  This  description,  with 
modifications  as  to  salaries  and  religious  tests  to  be 
noted  later,  held  true  till  1872. 

One  part  of  the  country — the  Highlands  and  Islands 
— had,  however,  lagged  behind;  and  in  1838  it  was 
Special  Provision  found  necessary  to  authorize  the 
for  the  Commissioners    of    the    Treasury    to 

Highlands.  provide  and  endow  schools  in  High- 

land parishes,  and  these  came  to  be  known  as  "Par- 

*  The  State  in  its  Relation  to  Education.    By  Henry  Craik,  c.b. 


PRIMARY  EDUCATION  233 

liamentary  "  schools,  to  distinguish  them  from  "  Parish  " 
and  "Side"  schools.  Five  years  later,  however,  in 
1843,  occurred  the  ecclesiastical  crisis  which  resulted 
in  what  is  known  as  the  Disruption  of  the  Established 
Church  of  Scotland  and  the  foundation  of  the  Free 
Church,  and  this  had  an  important  effect  on  education. 
So  far  as  they  could,  the  Free  Church  opened  schools 
in  connection  with  their  churches,  and  the  accommo- 
dation and  facilities  for  education  were  thereby  largely 
increased.  The  effect  was  seen  in  the  Act  of  1861, 
which,  after  raising  salaries  to  a  minimum  of  £,2>^ 
and  a  maximum  of  ;^7o,  transferred  the  examination 
of  parochial  schoolmasters  from  the  Presbyteries  to 
the  Universities,  abolished  the  religious  test  in  the 
case  of  burgh  schoolmasters,  and  modified  it  for 
parochial  schoolmasters  to  a  declaration  that  they 
would  not  teach  opinions  opposed  to  the  Bible  or 
Shorter  Catechism,  or  exercise  the  functions  of  their 
ofifice  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Established  Church. 

But  this  Act  of  1 86 1   is  particularly  interesting,  as 

it  appears  to  contain  the  first  ofificial  recognition  of  the 

education    of   girls.      Hitherto    boys 

W^err^chers.  ^"<^  P^'   '^^^  .l'^^"    '^"g^'   ''<*«   ''>' 
side  in  the  parish  schools,  and,  as  a 

rule,   the   curriculum   for   both  was   the   same.      This 

Act,  however,  gave  the  heritors  and  minister  power  to 

appoint  a  "female  teacher  ...  to  give  instruction  in 

such    branches    of    female    industry    and    household 

training,  as  well  as  of  elementary   education,  as  they 

shall    then   or   from   time   to   time    prescribe,   and   to 


234  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

provide  ...  a  yearly  sum  not  exceeding  thirty  pounds 
as  a  salary  for  such  female  teacher." 

A  report  obtained  in  1838  had  shown  that  out  of 
4000  teachers  included  in  the  returns  only  700  were 
women,  and  these  were  all  either  conducting  schools 
of  their  own,  or  employed  in  privately  endowed  schools. 
How  little  things  had  changed  in  1861  is  seen  from 
the  Blue-book  for  that  year,  which,  referring  to  the 
small  number  of  women  teachers  in  Scotland,  says, 
"It  is  urged,  by  way  of  explanation,  that  the  employ- 
ment of  female  teachers  in  separate  departments  of 
schools  for  the  poor  is  comparatively  new  in  Scotland, 
and  cannot  be  expected  to  make  rapid  way.  This 
argument  concedes  that  the  establishment  of  training 
schools  for  females  in  Scotland  has  been  at  least  in 
some  degree  excessive  or  premature."  To  appreciate 
this  last  remark  fully,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
Government  had  already  been  paying  grants  for  training 
schoolmistresses  in  Scotland  for  twelve  years.  At  this 
time  only  twenty  -  five  per  cent,  of  all  the  teachers 
employed  (other  than  pupil  teachers)  were  women, 
and  of  the  pupil  teachers  30*4  per  cent.  In  1872, 
the  last  year  of  the  old  regime^  the  percentages  were 
33-5  and  41*8  respectively;  in  1896  they  were  61*6 
and  8o*6. 

As  in  England,  pupil  teachers  had  come  to  be 
freely  employed ;  in  1861  they  formed  62  per  cent, 
of  the  total  teaching  staff.  This  resulted  from  the 
special  inducements  offered  by  the  Government  in  the 
shape  of  grants.     In  the  matter  of  training  teachers, 


PRIMARY  EDUCATION  235 

Scotland  was  well  in  advance,  for  already,  in  1826, 
David  Stow  had  instituted  his  Normal  system ;  the 
first  special  building  had  been  opened  in  1837,  to  be 
followed  by  three  others  before  1846,  when  grants 
began  to  be  regularly  given. 

Scotland   shared  with   England   the  grants  assigned 
to  education  from  1833  onwards,  and,  generally  speak- 
ing, on   the   same   terms,  though   by 
overnmen  ^g^^  special  stress  was  being  laid  on 

instruction  in  sewing  and  cutting  out 
in  schools  where  girls  were  taught,  and  it  was  made  a 
condition  of  the  grant.  Inspection,  however,  was 
optional,  and  only  schools  which  desired  a  grant  were 
subject  to  it.  Many  of  the  parochial  schools  preferred 
to  dispense  with  the  grant,  and  were  satisfied  with  the 
annual  visitation  of  the  Presbytery.  In  most  cases  this 
w^as  a  useful  function ;  in  others,  the  visitors  simply  sat 
by  while  the  schoolmaster  examined  his  classes  on 
lessons  which  had  been  specially  prepared  for  at  least  a 
week  previously.  By  this  method  the  report  seldom 
failed  to  be  satisfactory. 

The  want  of  inspection,  however,  did  not  necessarily 

imply  any  want  of  efficiency  in  the  instruction.     The 

teacher    was,   in    most    cases,    under    the    supervision 

of  the  minister  of  the  church  with  which  his   school 

was    connected;    and,    as    a    public 

ciency  o  functionary,  he   was    also   under   the 

Scottish  .  .     ' 

Teachers.  supervision  of  the   community,  espe- 

cially in  country  districts.  Further, 
the    multiplication    of    schools    due    to    ecclesiastical 


236  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

differences  secured  even  for  the  village  schoolmaster 
the  stimulus  of  competition,  for  the  school  fees  formed, 
as  a  rule,  the  largest  part  of  his  income ;  and  most 
parents  chose  a  school  for  their  children  irrespective 
of  their  denominational  views.  It  is  to  be  remembered 
too  that  the  parish  schoolmaster  had  had,  as  a  rule, 
a  more  or  less  complete  university  education,  and  in 
many  instances  held  a  licence  as  a  clergyman.  Even 
in  the  country  parishes  his  scholarship  was  not 
allowed  to  rust.  All  classes  sent  their  children  to  the 
parish  school,  and  usually  there  were  one  or  two  lads 
looking  forward  to  the  University.  It  has  been  alleged, 
and  in  many  cases  no  doubt  with  truth,  that  the  school- 
master devoted  too  much  of  his  attention  to  the  most 
advanced  pupils,  and  neglected  the  rest  of  the  school ; 
but  at  least  it  deserves  mention  that  in  not  a  few  cases 
preparation  for  the  University  was  given  before  and 
after  the  ordinary  school  hours  without  extra  fee  or 
reward.  Perhaps  no  better  testimony  to  the  quality 
of  schools  in  Scotland  at  this  time  can  be  found  than 
the  fact  that  not  a  little  of  the  famous  Revised  Code 
had  to  be  abandoned  so  far  as  Scotch  schools  were 
concerned.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that 
the  parish  schools,  valuable  as  they  were,  possessed 
any  monopoly  of  education.  Just  as  they  contributed 
to  secondary  education  in  the  country,  so  the  grammar 
schools  in  the  town  contributed  to  elementary  education. 
Not  only  were  scholars  admitted  to  these  at  an  early 
age,  but  it  sometimes  occurred  that  one  school  served 
as    burgh    and    parish    school    combined.      Generally 


PRIMARY  EDUCATION  237 

speaking,  however,  the  burgh  schools  had  more  of  a 
secondary  character.  They  will  be  more  conveniently 
dealt  with  under  the  heading  of  Secondary  Education. 

In  addition  to  the  parish  and  burgh  schools,  there 
were  spread  over  the  country  a  large  number  of 
private  and  endowed  schools.  In 
Endowerschools. '^37  there  would  appear  to  have 
been  3354  non-parochial,  as  against 
1053  parochial  schools.  In  2329  of  the  former 
which  sent  in  returns,  there  were  73,867  boys  and 
54,451  girls,  as  compared  with  39,604  boys  and 
22,317  girls  in  924  parochial  schools.  Of  the  non- 
parochial  schools  753  had  some  form  of  endowment, 
while  13 18  were  supported  entirely  by  the  school  fees. 
The  endowments  were  divided  pretty  fairly  between 
boys  and  girls.  The  Endowed  Schools  Commissioners 
of  a  later  date  were  of  opinion  that  in  respect  of 
endowments  girls  had  not  been  neglected.  Even  of 
the  private  schools  the  majority  were  mixed.  Some 
were,  however,  for  girls  only;  and  as  needlework  came 
to  be  taught,  a  few  so-called  Female  Industrial  schools 
were  established,  which,  however,  had  nothing  in 
common  with  Industrial  schools  as  we  now  know 
them. 

The  fees  seemed  to  have  varied  in  the  parish  schools 
from  id.  to  dd.  a  week,  with  extra  charges  of  from  2d. 
to  6d.  for  higher  branches.  In  the  other  schools 
there  was  no  uniformity,  and  schools  might  be  found 
with  any  scale  of  charges. 

The  Act  of    1 86 1  must  have  given  a  considerable 


238         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

impetus  to  education,  for  we  find  in  1867  that  out 
Impetus  afforded  of  500,000  children  some  400,000 
by  the  Act  of  were  at  school ;  though  only  about 
^^^*  the    half    of    this    number    were    at 

schools  under  inspection. 

Such  numbers,  at  a  time  when  education  was  neither 
free  nor  compulsory,  prove  how  general  was  the 
appreciation  of  education,  and  how  real  what  has 
so  often  been  called  the  spirit  of  education  in 
Scotland. 

The  consequence  was  that  when  further  legislation 
became  necessary,  it  was  possible  to  make  that  legisla- 
tion at  once  more  complete  and  less  complicated  than 
in  England.  The  people  were  in  favour  of  increased 
educational  facilities.  The  landowners  had  been  taxed 
for  the  support  of  schools  for  nearly  two  hundred  years, 
and  consequently  the  principle  of  assessment  did  not 
require  to  be  introduced,  but  only  extended.  Class 
distinctions  had  not  been  strongly  marked  in  educa- 
tional arrangements,  and  generally  the  question  was 
less  one  of  establishing  a  new  system  than  of  bringing 
the  existing  system  into  line  with  modern  opinion. 

The  distinction  between  the  Acts  for  England  and 
Scotland  appears  in  the  very  titles.  The  former  is 
"The  Elementary  Education  Act,  1870 — an  Act  to 
provide  for  Public  Elementary  Education  in  England 
and  Wales";  while  the  latter  is  "The  Education 
(Scotland)  Act,  1872 — an  Act  to  amend  and  extend 
the  Provisions  of  the  Law  of  Scotland  on  the  subject 
of  Education." 


PRIMARY  EDUCATION  239 

Differences  '^^^  English  Act  has  been  so  well 

between  the  summarized  in  the  part  of  this  work 

Scottish  and  dealing  with  England  that  the  Scotch 

English  Systems.  u    ..    u       ^        -u  a    • 

system    may    best    be    described    m 

contrast  with  it. 

1.  While  the  English  Act  left  it  to  the  towns  and 
parishes  to  decide  whether  there  should  be  a  School 
Board  or  not,  so  long  at  all  events  as  the  necessary 
accommodation  was  voluntarily  supplied,  the  Scotch 
Election  of  ^^^  made  the  election  of  a  School 
School  Boards  Board  obligatory  on  every  burgh 
obligatory.  ^^^  parish  within  twelve  months 
after  the  passing  of  the  KoX.  The  number  of 
members  varies  from  five  to  fifteen,  according  to 
population,  and  women  are  eligible  for  membership. 
The  method  of  voting  is  cumulative,  and  elections 
take  place  every  three  years.  In  Scotland  the  elections 
of  all  School  Boards  take  place  about  the  same  time, 
while  in  England  the  different  dates  of  forming  School 
Boards  make  anything  like  uniformity  in  time  of 
election  utterly  impossible. 

2.  While  in  England  localities  were  at  first  left  free 
to  decide  whether  school  attendance  should  be  com- 
pulsory  or    not,   and    a    compulsory 

Compulsory  ,     ,  .  .       ^r. 

Attendance,  1872.  system  only  became  general  m  1880; 

in  Scotland  attendance  became  uni- 
versally compulsory  in  1872.  The  EngUsh  system  of 
bye-laws  by  which  each  locality  can,  subject  to  the 
Education  Department,  fix  its  own  standard  of  exemp- 
tion,   was    not    adopted    in   Scotland.      The    Scotch 


240         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

Education  Department,  under  the  powers  given  them 
by  the  Act,  fixed  the  fifth  standard  as  the  exemption 
standard  for  the  whole  country.  This  may  appear 
lower  than  in  some  parts  of  England;  but  it  is  to  be 
remembered  that  the  half-time  system,  with  its  still 
lower  exemption  standard,  has  never  prevailed  in 
Scotland  to  the  same  extent,  even  in  proportion  to 
the  population,  as  in  England. 

It  might  have  been  supposed  that  from  the  important 
position  education  had  so  long  held  in  Scotland,  a  less 
stringent  compulsory  system  would  have  sufficed.  It 
is,  however,  a  curious  fact  that  the  penalties  for  non- 
attendance  at  school  in  Scotland  are  much  heavier 
than  in  England,  the  maximum  penalty  being  in  the 
latter  country  5s.  including  expenses,  and  in  the 
former  20s.  in  addition  to  expenses  up  to  a  second 
sum  of  20s.,  with  imprisonment  in  default  of  payment. 

From  time  to  time  the  raising  of  the  exemption 
standard  from  the  fifth  to  the  sixth  has  been  suggested. 
The  Department,  however,  have  not  been  convinced  of 
the  advantages  of  such  a  step,  and  preferring  to  work 
by  attraction  rather  than  by  further  compulsion,  they 
some  years  ago  instituted  a  "Merit  Certificate"  for 
scholars  over  thirteen  years  of  age.  The  certificate 
requires  thorough  efficiency  in  the  three  elementary 
subjects,  two  class  subjects,  and  all  the  stages  of  one 
specific  subject  or  two  stages  of  two  specific  subjects 
other  than  domestic  economy.  The  teacher  must 
certify  to  the  character  and  conduct  of  each  pupil 
admitted  to  the  examination  which  forms  part  of   the 


PRIMARY  EDUCATION  241 

annual  inspection  of  each  school  presenting  candidates. 
During  the  last  four  years  8603  of  these  certificates  have 
been  issued. 

3.  A  School  Board  in  England  might  find  the  super- 
vision  of   school   attendance    its    principal   work,   and 

might  not  have  a  single  school  under 
Fuller  Powers  of  .  4.       o-u       4.        r 

Scottish  Boards.  ^^^  management.  The  transference 
of  schools  is  entirely  optional.  In 
Scotland,  on  the  contrary,  the  burgh  and  parish  schools 
and  all  other  schools  established  under  previous  Acts 
of  Parliament  were  at  once  transferred  to  the  Boards, 
which  received  the  powers  and  obligations  of  the  heritors 
and  minister,  the  authority  of  the  Presbyteries  being  like- 
wise abolished  so  far  as  concerned  public  schools. 

Only  seven  Boards  in  Scotland  have  no  schools,  and 
this  is  owing  to  their  districts  being  supplied  by  the 
schools  of  an  adjoining  Board,  generally  a  burgh  Board 
in  the  same  parish. 

The  School  Boards  were  authorised  to  accept  trans- 
ference of  other  schools,  and  within  a  few  years 
practically  all  the  State-aided  schools  in  Scotland,  with 
the  exception  of  those  connected  with  the  Roman 
Catholic  and  Episcopalian  Churches  and  the  Practising 
Schools  of  the  Training  Colleges,  were  under  the 
Boards.  Even  private  schools  have  been  absorbed  in 
considerable  numbers. 

4.  While  in  England  the  grants  were  confined  mainly 
to  elementary  education,  and  are  not  paid  beyond  the 
seventh  standard,  the  limit  in  Scotland  is  one  of  age, 
namely  18;  and  this,  combined  with  the  management 

R 


242  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

of  burgh  or  grammar  schools,  gives  the  Scotch  Boards 
School  Boards  ^^^^  powers  in  providing  secondary  as 
and  Secondary  well  as  elementary  instruction.  The 
Education.  ^ct  of   1872    specially  provided  that 

"the  standard  of  education  which  now  exists  in  the 
public  schools  shall  not  be  lowered." 

5.  In  Scotland  School  Boards  are  left  free  to  make 
any  provision  they  choose  for  religious  instruction  before 

or  after  the  hours  set  apart  for  secular 
C  techism  instruction,  subject  only  to  the  ordinary 

conscience  clause.  There  is  no  prohi- 
bition of  religious  Catechisms  or  formularies  distinctive 
of  particular  denominations,  as  in  England.  The  Bible 
and  the  Shorter  Catechism  are  commonly  taught 
according  to  what  had  been  "use  and  wont"  before 
the  passing  of  the  Act,  although  some  Boards  have 
now  discontinued  the  Catechism. 

6.  The  Scotch  Education  Department,  like  the  English, 

have  at  their  disposal  a  Hmited  number  of  pensions 

for   teachers ;  but  in  addition,  power 
Teachers' 
p      .  is  given   to   School  Boards   to  grant 

teachers  such  retiring  allowances  as 
they  think  fit.  This  also  was  not  a  new  principle  in  the 
Scotch  education  system,  for  the  parochial  teachers  who 
held  office  ad  vitavi  aut  culpam  were  legally  entitled  to 
a  pension,  and  their  rights  were  specially  reserved  by 
the  Act  of  1872. 

Education  in  Scotland  began  to  be 
Free  Education,  ^^^^  ^^^^  j^^  ^gg  ^^^^  Parliament 
1880.  ,.  -      -   .  , 

voted  a  sum  m  relief  of  fees  to   be 


PRIMARY  EDUCATION  243 

distributed    under    conditions   framed   by  the    Scotch 
Education   Department.      Subsequent  Acts  readjusted 
and  increased  the  amounts  available,  but  they  did  not 
interfere  with  the  Department's  power  to  make  condi- 
tions.     No   fees    can    be    charged    now    to    scholars 
between   the  ages   of  three   and   fifteen;   but  in  the 
larger  towns  where  there  is   sufficient  accommodation 
for  all  children  who  desire  free  education,  the  School 
Boards  have  been  allowed  to  carry  on  a  small  number 
of  fee-paying  schools. 

Numbers  of  '^^^  following  statistics,  taken  from 

Scholars  in  the      the     latest     Blue  -  book,     show     the 
Schools.  number  of  children  on  the  rolls,  &c., 

and  the  number  enjoying  free  education : — 
Estimated  total  number  of  children  of  school  age  (five 

to  fourteen)  .  .  ....     867,062 

Number  on  rolls  of  schools  on  annual  grant  list     .        .     708,551 
Number  on  rolls  of  schools  actually  inspected  last  year    692,202* 
*  Of  these  661,971  were  of  school  age  (5-14),  12,820  were  between 
three  and  five  years  of  age,  and  17,410  were  beyond  fourteen. 
Number  present  at  inspection — 

Boys 331,235 

Girls 313,775 


645,010 

umber  in  average  attendance 

in  schools  i 

nspected  : 

Boys. 

Girls. 

Public  Schools 

258,065 

-.     234,875 

Established  Church  Schools 

2,934 

...        3,089 

Free  Church  Schools 

1,986 

...        2,180 

Episcopal  Schools 

5,756 

5,749 

Roman  Catholic  Schools 

24,353 

...      23,008 

Undenominational  and  othe 

r 

Schools 

6,446 

...        6,864 

299,540  ...  275,765  575,305 

Number  of  scholars  in  free  schools        .         .     672,093,  or  97  "09  % 
Number  of  scholars  in  fee-paying  schools      .       20,109,  or    2"9i  % 


244         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

Accommodation  is  now  provided  for  789,126  scholars, 
as  compared  with  281,688  in  1872. 

Scotland  has  not  so  far  followed  England  in  the 
matter  of  inspection  of  the  day  schools.  The  annual 
inspection  stills  holds  its  place,  but  it  is  of  a  general 
character,  except  in  the  fifth  or  exemption  standard, 
which  is  examined  individually,  as  are  also  pupils 
presented  in  specific  subjects. 

Perhaps  nothing  in  the  history  of  Scottish  education 

is  more  noteworthy  than  the  increased  recognition  of 

the  special  requirements  of  girls.     It 

Special  Subjects     .^    ^^^^    ^^^^^   ^^^    schools,    excepting 

for  Girls.  ^     ^ 

some     of    the     High     schools     and 

Voluntary  schools,  continue  to  be  "mixed"  and  to 
include  children  of  all  ages,  from  infants  upwards.  It 
is  true  also  that,  generally  speaking,  the  curriculum  for 
boys  and  girls  is  the  same  as  far  as  the  ordinary 
branches  are  concerned,  and  on  this  account  there 
is  much  greater  difficulty  in  arranging  for  special 
subjects  than  when  girls  are  taught  by  themselves  in 
separate  departments.  Needlework,  however,  has  been 
made  obligatory,  and  special  inducements  in  the  way 
of  grants  are  held  out  for  teaching  cookery,  laundry 
work,  and  dairy  work,  as  well  as  general  domestic 
economy  and  hygiene.  Such  instruction  is  always  of 
a  practical  nature;  and  though  laundries  are  still,  as 
a  rule,  confined  to  schools  in  larger  towns,  well 
equipped  cookery  rooms  are  now  fairly  general.  Draw- 
ing, which  is  not  compulsory  even  for  boys  in  Scotland, 
is  now  being  taught  in  an  increasing  number  of  schools 


PRIMARY  EDUCATION  245 

to  both  sexes.  Until  quite  recently  the  physical  training 
of  girls  was  an  optional  matter,  and  probably  received 
little  attention  beyond  the  calisthenics  of  the  infant 
room.  Now,  however,  some  form  of  drill  or  physical 
exercise  must  be  taught  to  all  scholars  if  the  higher 
grant  for  organization  and  discipline  would  be  earned. 
In  some  of  the  larger  towns  swimming  is  taught  to 
the  older  girls  who  desire  it. 

It  is  obvious  that  with  even  one  or  two  special 
subjects  the  girls  are  overweighted  as  compared  with 
the  boys;  but  the  Code  now  offers  inducements  to 
teachers  to  give  instruction  in  elementary  science  to 
boys  while  the  girls  are  at  needlework,  and  the  latter 
are  understood  to  be  judged  more  leniently  in  arith- 
metic. It  is  a  question,  however,  whether  girls  would 
not  derive  greater  benefit  from  a  shorter  course  of 
arithmetic  thoroughly  mastered  than  from  the  longer 
course  imperfectly  understood. 

As  already  shown,  the  greater  part  of  the  teaching  in 
Scotland  in  now  done  by  women.  As  the  mixed 
schools,  except  small  country  schools,  are  usually 
under  head -masters,  and  separate  departments  for 
The  Training  of  S^^^^  ^^^  infants  are  rare  in  Scotland 
Elementary  as     compared     with     England,     the 

Teachers.  opportunities    for    women    becoming 

head-mistresses  are  few.  They  may  have  obtained  their 
certificates  in  the  ordinary  way  through  a  training 
college,  or  they  may  have  served  as  pupil  teachers 
and  then  qualified  themselves  by  teaching  and  examina- 
tion, without  attending  a  training  college,  or  they  may 


246  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

have  obtained  one  of  the  university  titles  or  certificates; 
the  woman  over  eighteen  years  of  age  approved  by 
the  Inspector  is  almost  unknown  in  Scotland,  and  ranks 
only  as  a  pupil  teacher. 

While  the  number  of  men  seeking  admission  to  the 
training  colleges  is  at  present  decreasing,  the  number  of 
women  not  only  willing,  but  by  examination  eligible  to 
be  trained  is  largely  in  excess  of  the  number  the  colleges 
are  authorized  to  admit. 

Since  the  lectures  and  degrees  of  the  Scottish 
Universities  were  opened  to  women,  the  privilege  of 
attending  university  classes,  hitherto  confined  to  the 
men,  has  been  extended  to  the  most  distinguished 
women  students  of  the  training  colleges.  It  is  to  be 
noted  that  the  Scotch  training  colleges  are  all  nominally 
denominational,  though  in  practice  students  of  all 
churches  are  found  in  them. 

The  Code  for  1895  contained  provisions  for  the  train- 
ing of  teachers  in  connection  with  the  universities,  but 
the  conditions  attached  will  probably  prevent  any  great 
accession  to  the  ranks  of  teachers  by  this  avenue. 

The  latest  returns  show  that  the  schools  are  staffed  by 

8907  certificated  teachers,  of  whom  4871  are  women; 

2027  assistant  teachers,  of  whom  1866  are  women  ; 

4268  pupil  teachers,  of  whom  3297  are  girls  and 
179  "women  over  18." 


The  average  salary  is — 

Principals 
Masters         .            .        .     £\(i^    5    4  • 

Assistants 

..    ;^I00     16     II 

Mistresses     .            .        ,      ;^76     i     8  . 

..     £^A    2    8 

PRIMARY  EDUCATION  24^ 

Certificated  teachers  count  for  70  pupils,  assistant 
teachers  for  50,  except  those  who  have  passed  third 
class  in  the  Queen's  Scholarship  examination,  who 
count  for  40,  and  pupil  teachers  for  25. 

The  Department  have  abolished  the  annual  exam- 
ination of  pupil  teachers,  and  now  hold  one  examination 
at  the  end  of  the  second  year  of  apprenticeship.  Those 
who  fail  in  this  examination,  unless  from  illness  or  other 
sufficient  cause,  do  not  continue  the  work.  Certain 
leaving  certificates,  however,  exempt  candidates  from 
this  examination. 

Evening  schools  have  made  rapid  progress  in  Scotland 
during  the  last  twenty-four  years,  but  more  particularly 
Evening  since  1893,  when  the  special  Code  for 

Continuation  Evening    Continuation    Schools    was 

Schools.  ^j.g|.  issued.     Formerly  the  classifica- 

tion was  by  standards,  as  in  the  day  schools,  and 
individual  examination  prevailed.  Now,  however,  the 
grants  are  paid  on  the  average  attendance  of  all  pupils 
over  twelve  years  of  age,  and  on  the  quality  of  the 
instruction  as  tested  by  visits  without  notice.  In  1872 
the  average  attendance  at  inspected  evening  schools  in 
Scotland  was  3653,  of  whom  1236  were  girls.  In 
1892-93,  the  last  session  under  the  old  regulations, 
the  average  attendance  was  19,575,  of  whom  4894 
were  girls.  In  the  last  session  (1895-96)  the  average 
attendance  had  increased  to  45,487,  of  whom  scarcely 
a  third  were  girls. 

As,  except  in  one  or  two  details,  the  Codes  for 
England  and  Scotland  are  alike,  the  evening  schools 


248  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

are  worked  on  much  the  same  lines  as  in  England, 
and  full  advantage  has  been  taken  of  the  opportunity 
to  institute  classes  in  subjects  specially  suited  for 
women  and  girls,  such  as  domestic  economy,  health 
and  hygiene,  cookery,  laundry  work,  and  dressmaking. 
An  increasing  number  of  girls  is  also  to  be  found 
taking  such  subjects  as  book-keeping,  shorthand,  and 
typewriting.  As  a  rule  the  instruction  in  the  evening 
schools  is  given  by  the  day  school  teachers. 

The  cost  of  education  is  met  in  the  same  way  as 
in  England,  partly  from  the  Imperial  Treasury,  partly 

from  local  sources.  In  1 804-0  q  the 
Cost  of  ^t  :^J 

Education  amount  of  Parliamentary  grant   paid 

to  day  schools  was  ;^6i4,ooo,  or 
^\  \s.  a\d.  for  each  scholar  in  average  attendance; 
the  amount  paid  in  relief  of  fees  at  1 2s.  per  head  was 
;£'349,ooo,  of  which  ^^302,000  was  paid  to  School 
Boards  and  ;£"47,ooo  to  managers  of  Voluntary  schools. 
Local  sources  contributed  in  the  shape  of  rates 
;£"704,ooo,  an  average  rate  of  8*  18  pence.  Voluntary 
subscriptions  ;^3 1,000,  and  school  fees  ;£^25,ooo.* 

The  cost  of  "maintenance"  per  child  in  average 
attendance  was,  in  public  schools  £^2  gs.  2^d.,  and 
in  Voluntary  schools  ^£2  31.  4^d.,  of  which  last 
amount  js.  ^\d.  was  met  by  subscriptions  and  2s.  8^d. 
by  fees. 

*  Ciphers  have  been  substituted  for  the  three  last  figures. 


Section   II. 
Secon^avs  B&ucation 

In  Scotland  education  has  so  long  been  generally 
regarded  as  a  whole  that  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to 
draw  a  clear  line  of  distinction  between  primary  and 
secondary  education.  Certainly  there  have  always  been 
two  kinds  of  public  schools — the  parish  and  the  burgh 
schools — but  it  is  open  to  doubt  whether  the  difference 
between  them  did  not  lie  less  in  the  education  given 
than  in  the  social  status  of  the  scholars,  for  the  higher 
fees  of  the  burgh  schools  naturally  confined  them  to 
children  of  a  wealthier  class  than  attended  the  parish 
schools. 

So  far  as  public  education  of  a  higher  character  had 
a  visible  existence  it  was  in   the  burgh  schools,  and 

it  may  be  well  briefly  to  trace  their 
Scho  l"  history.      As     already    stated,    these 

schools  had  their  origin  in  schools 
founded  by  the  monks  in  the  towns  surrounding  the 
monasteries.  In  course  of  time  the  Town  Councils 
came  to  have  an  interest  in  the  management,  seemingly 
by  contributions  to  their  support.  Even  before  the 
Reformation  we  find  some  Town  Councils  asserting  their 
249 


250         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

right  to  appoint  masters  independently  of  the  Church 
authorities.  "The  master  of  the  schools  was  in  some 
instances  endowed  from  Church  lands;  but  in  the 
great  majority  of  cases  he  was  paid  from  the  common 
good  of  the  burgh  or  by  voluntary  assessments  imposed 
by  the  burgesses  for  his  behoof,  and  by  the  fees  and 
other  perquisites  payable  by  scholars."*  The  buildings 
appear  to  have  been  erected  and  repaired  at  the  expense 
of  the  burghs. 

At  the  time  of  the  Reformation  John  Knox's  scheme 
included  a  full  provision  of  higher  schools,  intermediate 

between  the  primary  schools  and  the 
g  .  universities,  and  he  and  his  colleagues 

made  great  efforts  to  retain  part  of 
the  Church  endowments  for  education.  In  this,  how- 
ever, they  met  with  but  little  success;  and,  except  in 
the  larger  towns,  the  gap  between  the  primary  schools 
and  the  universities  had  to  be  bridged  over  by  the 
parish  schools  extending  their  curricula  beyond  primary 
limits,  while  the  universities  met  these  schools  by  junior 
classes,  which  would  have  been  unnecessary  had  the 
original  plan  of  the  Reformers  been  carried  out. 
Though,  however,  the  Church  failed  so  far,  it  did  not 
cease  to  take  an  active  interest  in  the  grammar  schools 
that  were  established,  and  the  jurisdiction  of  Presby- 
teries over  the  burgh  schools  was  only  occasionally 
questioned  until  in  1861  it  was  at  once  indisputably 
confirmed  by  a  decision  of  the  Court  of  Session, 
and  then  finally  abolished  by  the  Schoolmasters'  Act 
*  History  of  the  Burgh  Schools  of  Scotlatid.  By  James  GRANT,  M.A. 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  251 

of  that  year.  As  a  rule  the  Town  Councils  were  the 
managers;  but  in  cases  where  one  school  served  both 
as  a  burgh  and  parish  school  the  Town  Councils  and 
heritors  acted  jointly. 

The  curriculum  in  the  earliest  days  was,  as  may  be 

supposed,    entirely    classical,    Latin    receiving   special 

attention,  and  Hebrew  being  not  un- 

urricu  urn  o    a     j^j^q^^j^      jj.  ^^g  assumed  that  scholars 

entering  the  grammar  schools  had 
already  learned  to  read  and  write;  but  as  time  went 
on  it  was  found  advisable  to  add  English  and  writing 
to  the  curriculum.  Arithmetic  and  mathematics  do  not 
find  a  regular  place  till  towards  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  only  modern  language  taught 
before  recent  days  was  French,  which  no  doubt  owed 
its  place  in  the  curriculum  to  the  close  association 
between  Scotland  and  France  in  former  times.  As 
might  be  expected,  both  from  the  origin  of  the  schools 
and  the  interest  taken  in  them  by  the  Reformers  and 
their  successors,  religious  instruction  formed  a  very 
important  part  of  the  teaching,  but  parents  were 
entitled  to  withdraw  their  children  from  it  if  they 
chose.  In  the  Sang  schools  music  was  second  only 
to  Latin ;  but  for  some  reason,  after  the  Reformation, 
it  gradually  decayed  in  spite  of  special  legislation,  and 
in  certain  cases,  special  endowments. 

The  schools  were  maintained  after  the  Reformation 
How  the  Burgh  ^Y  ^  payment  from  the  common  good 
Schools  were  or  common  property  of  the  burgh,  by 
maintained.  ^^  school  fees,  and   in   some   cases 


252  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

by  endowments.  The  principal  part  of  the  masters' 
salaries  was  the  fees,  which  were  separate  for  each 
subject,  and  generally  each  master  received  the  fees 
for  his  own  classes.  Naturally  each  endeavoured  to 
secure  as  many  pupils  as  possible  for  his  own  subject, 
and  the  result  was  frequently  keen  rivalry  between  the 
masters  of  the  same  school.  As  a  rule,  each  was  head 
of  his  own  department,  so  that  a  grammar  school  was 
rather  a  collection  of  schools  for  separate  subjects. 
The  rector  was  nominally  head,  but  he  had  limited 
powers  beyond  his  own  department,  which  was  usually 
that  of  classics.  In  1868  the  annual  average  fee  per 
scholar  seems  to  have  ranged  from  ds.  2d.  to  £,10  35'.; 
but  few  fell  below  jQ\.  At  one  time  the  masters  also 
received  certain  perquisites,  not  the  least  curious  of 
which  were  dues  for  an  annual  bout  of  cockfighting, 
to  which  the  school  was  given  up  on  Shrove  Tuesday 
or  Fasterns'  E'en. 

About  the  middle  of  the  last  century  a  demand  appears 
to  have  arisen  for  a  curriculum  in  which  commercial 
and  science  subjects,  and  not  classics, 
•♦  A^  d  •  "  should  hold  the  principal  place.  The 
result  was  the  establishment  of  a 
number  of  "Academies,"  erected  mainly  by  public 
subscription.  According  to  Mr.  Grant,  "  though  at 
first  the  academies  were  intended  merely  to  supplement 
the  grammar  schools,  in  a  short  time  they  superseded 
or  absorbed  them;  and  in  a  few  instances,  instead  of 
amalgamating  with  them,  became  their  rivals."  In  some 
cases  the  Town  Councils  alone  managed  these  schools ; 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  253 

but  generally  the  governing  body  was  composed  of 
representatives  of  the  subscribers  and  Town  Councils, 
and  certain  persons  ex  officiis. 

In  addition  to  the  burgh  schools  and  academies, 
there  w^as  also  a  considerable  number  of  endowed 
schools  which  contributed  to  the 
Pritarsrotls.  ^^Sher  education  of  the  country. 
Many  of  these  were  carried  on  as 
what  used  to  be  known  as  "  Hospitals,"  that  is  to  say, 
the  pupils  were  not  only  educated  but  also  boarded 
and  clothed.  The  last  Endowments  Commission 
abolished  this  system,  and  converted  the  former 
hospitals  into  day  schools,  with  a  large  number  of 
bursaries  attached  to  them. 

There  was  also,  of  course,  a  large  number  of  private 
and  proprietary  schools  in  which  advanced  instruction 
was  given,  and  which  were  attended  mainly  by  the 
children  of  the  wealthier  classes. 

Secondary  Education  in  Scotland  has  owed  something 
also  to  endowments  which  were  not  confined  to  a 
particular  school,  but  were  of  a  more  general  character. 
The  Commission  of  1872  found  that  besides  an  annual 
sum  of  ;£79,245  devoted  to  "Hospital"  endowments, 
and  ;£59,529  devoted  to  schools,  there  was  a  sum  of 
;£^35)758  which  might  be  considered  as  general  endow- 
ments. Of  these,  the  best  known  are  the  Dick  and 
Milne  Bequests,  connected  with  the  counties  of 
Aberdeen,  Banff,  and  Moray.  They  have  been  used 
to  secure  teachers  qualified  to  give  higher  instruction, 
and  have  gained  a  high  reputation  for  the  schools  in 


254  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

these  counties.  By  the  action  of  the  Endowments 
Commission  of  1882  the  various  endowments  through- 
out the  country  had  their  conditions  revised,  and  in 
many  cases  all  the  educational  endowments  in  a  town 
or  district  were  amalgamated  under  the  management 
of  representative  trusts.  The  funds  are  now  mainly 
utilized  in  providing  bursaries  or  scholarships  for 
higher  education  for  the  children  of  parents  of  limited 
income. 

As  regards  girls,  until  the  end  of  last  century  any 
references  to  their  education  as  apart  from  boys  seem 
to  show  that  the  only  subjects  taught  to  them,  other 
than  the  usual  elementary  branches,  were  sewing, 
cookery,  lace-work,  and,  in  a  few  cases,  music.  After 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century  we  find  French 
and  drawing  referred  to ;  but  greatly  as  some  Town 
Councils  interested  themselves  in  the  education  of  girls, 
their  ideas  were  limited  to  elementary  and  industrial 
training,  and  it  is  only  within  very  recent  times  that 
higher  instruction  has  been  recognized  as  suitable,  not 
to  say  desirable,  for  girls. 

Since  1872  Secondary  Education,  except  that  which 
is  provided  in  a  number  of  endowed  and  private  or 
Burgh  Schools  proprietary  schools,  has  been  adminis- 
transferred  to  tered  by  the  School  Boards,  to  whom 
School  Boards,  ^^e  Act  of  that  year  transferred  the 
burgh  schools  from  the  Town  Councils  or  other  govern- 
ing bodies.  The  transferring  clause  may  be  considered 
to  describe  Secondary  Education  as  that  which  "does 
not  consist  chiefly  of  elementary  instruction  in  reading. 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  255 

writing,  and  arithmetic,  but  of  instruction  in  Latin, 
Greek,  modern  languages,  mathematics,  natural  science, 
and  generally  in  the  higher  branches  of  knowledge." 
The  burgh  schools  giving  such  instruction  were  to 
be  deemed  higher  class  public  schools,  and  to  be 
managed  by  the  School  Boards  with  a  view  "to  pro- 
mote the  higher  education  of  the  country,"  and,  "so 
far  as  practicable  and  expedient,"  they  were  to  be 
relieved  "of  the  necessity  of  giving  elementary  in- 
struction in  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  to  young 
children"  by  sufficient  accommodation  for  elementary 
instruction  being  provided  otherwise.  Any  endowments 
were  transferred  to  the  Boards,  and  the  Town  Councils 
were  ordered  to  pay  to  the  Boards  from  the  common 
good  the  amount  it  had  formerly  been  their  custom 
to  contribute  to  the  schools.  Otherwise  higher 
education  was  to  pay  its  own  way.  The  full  amount 
of  fees  was  to  be  distributed  among  the  masters.  In 
other  words,  the  schools  might  keep  what  they  had, 
but  they  were  to  get  nothing  more.  In  six  years, 
however,  opinion  had  advanced  far  enough  to  allow 
a  charge  on  the  rates  for  the  expense  of  alterations 
and  repairs  to  the  buildings,  and,  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  Department,  such  other  expenses  for 
the  promotion  of  higher  education  as  were  not  other- 
wise provided  for.  This  was  taken  to  mean  that 
everything  except  salaries  could  now  be  put  on  the 
rates,  and  consequently  the  masters  still  depended 
entirely  on  the  fees,  which,  with  the  approval  of  the 
Board,  they  could,  by  the  Act  of  1872,  fix  for  them- 


256  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

selves.  The  natural  results  were  an  increase  in  the 
fees  charged,  and  the  consequent  exclusion  of  poorer 
children,  except  such  as  could  obtain  bursaries  from 
other  sources. 

This  state  of  matters  continued  till  1892,  a  year 
which  marks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  secondary 
education  in  Scotland. 

In  the  previous  year  the  Act  for  assisting  public 
elementary  education  in  England  and  Wales  had  been 
passed,  and  in  consequence  Scotland  became  entitled 
to  a  sum  equivalent  to  that  being  expended  in  England. 
As  education  in  Scotland  had  already  been  made  free 
from  other  sources,  the  money  was  available  for  such 
objects  as  required  it. 

The  greater  part  went  in  relief  of  rates,  but  ^£'30,000 
was  given  to  the  universities  and  ;^6  0,000  was  assigned 
p    J.  to  the  Scotch  Education  Department 

Grant  for  for  the  purposes  of  secondary  educa- 

Secondary  tion.     This   is  the  first  special  grant 

Education.  ^^    secondary    education,    and    it    is 

curious  that  Scotland  should  be  indebted  for  it  in  a 
sense  to  the  freeing  of  elementary  education  in 
England. 

Committees,  composed  of  representatives  of  Town 
or  County  Councils,  School  Boards,  and  other  educa- 
tional bodies,  were  formed  in  all  the  counties  and 
larger  burghs  for  .the  purpose  of  distributing  the  grant, 
which  was  allocated  to  them  in  proportion  to  the 
population  and  valuation  of  their  districts.  The 
Department  are   represented   on   every   committee    by 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  257 

one  of  Her  Majesty's  inspectors.  The  Committees, 
like  the  School  Boards,  hold  office  for  three  years. 
Their  main  function  is  to  prepare  annually  a  scheme 
for  the  distribution  of  the  amount  entrusted  to  them 
among  the  secondary  schools  in  their  district.  This 
scheme  is  then  submitted  to  the  Department.  As 
soon  as  it  is  approved,  the  amount  allotted  to  a  com- 
mittee is  paid  over,  and  it  is  then  the  duty  of  the 
committee  to  distribute  it  to  the  schools  in  accordance 
with  their  scheme,  subject  to  the  Department  having 
certified  that  the  schools  are  in  every  way  efficient. 

In  framing  their  schemes  the  committees  are  to  have 
"  due  regard  both  to  educational  efficiency  and  to  the 

-^.  ^  .,  ^.  -  extension  of  the  benefits  of  secondary 
Distribution  of  .    ^ 

Secondary  education    to     the     largest     possible 

Education  number  of  scholars";   the   money  is 

*'^     *  not   to   go   in   relief    of  rates.      The 

system  has  now  been  three  years  in  operation,  and 
the  report  for  the  third  year  shows  that,  speaking 
generally,  ;£"48,ooo  is  being  distributed  amongst  higher 
class  schools  and  State-aided  schools  giving  higher 
instruction  in  separate  secondary  departments  or  other- 
wise. The  money  is  given  in  the  shape  of  direct 
subsidies  or  of  capitation  grants  on  scholars  beyond 
the  sixth  standard,  depending  on  the  passes  in  specific 
subjects  or  the  number  of  merit  and  leaving  certificates 
gained.  In  most  cases  the  grant  is  conditional  on  a 
number  of  free  places  being  provided,  and  also  on 
the  reduction  of  fees  to  a  moderate  amount  in  cases 
where    these  were  high.     In  addition   to    these    free 

s 


258         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

places  some  £1600  is  devoted  to  bursaries,  or 
scholarships,  and  the  payment  of  travelling  expenses 
of  scholars  requiring  to  go  to  a  centre.  £^S^  ^^s 
been  assigned  for  higher  education  in  evening  schools, 
and  the  balance  has  gone  towards  building  or  equip- 
ment. To  this  last  purpose  was  mainly  devoted  a  year's 
grant  which  had  accumulated  before  the  method  of 
distribution  was  decided. 

Opinions  may  differ  as  to  the  system  of  distribution, 
but  there  can  be  no  doubt  the  grant,  limited  though 

The  Grant  an  ^^  ^^'  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^  ^^^^^  impetus  to 
Impetus  to  secondary  education,   and  is   helping 

Secondary  towards     better     organization.       The 

uca  ion.  burgh   schools  have   been  placed  on 

a  securer  footing;  their  buildings,  equipment,  and 
staffing  have  been  greatly  improved;  and  they  have 
been  thrown  open  to  a  much  larger  number  than 
before.  New  district  schools  have  been  provided; 
endowed  and  Voluntary  State-aided  schools  have 
received  valuable  assistance;  and  in  country  districts, 
where  no  central  school  was  possible,  the  schoolmasters 
have  been  encouraged  to  take  up  higher  instruction, 
as  in  the  old  days  of  parish  schools. 

One  or  two  of  the  larger  School  Boards  have  been 
enabled  to  institute  special  high  schools  for  girls;  but, 
generally  speaking,  the  traditional  "mixed"  school  is 
being  continued,  though  greater  attention  is  being 
given  to  subjects  considered  suitable  for  girls,  and 
to  such  branches  as  music,  painting,  and  drawing. 

The  inspection  of  the  secondary  schools  in  Scotland 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  259 

is  in  the  hands  of  the  Department.  In  some  cases 
Inspection  of  ^^  inspection  is  conducted  by  the 
Secondary  ordinary   inspectors;   but    it   is  more 

Schools.  usual  for  special   examiners,  such   as 

Professors  in  the  Scottish  Universities,  to  be  appointed. 
The  examiners  submit  a  report,  based  on  a  general 
inspection  of  the  school,  to  the  Department,  who  then 
forward  it  to  the  managers.  In  1886  38  secondary 
schools  were  examined  in  this  way,  22  being  higher 
class  public  schools,  10  endowed,  and  6  under  Voluntary 
managers,  who  invited  the  inspection  of  the  Depart- 
ment. In  1896  the  numbers  were  30,  24,  and  20 
respectively ;  a  total  of  74  schools. 

But  what  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  the  real  test  of 

schools  giving  higher  instruction  is  the  leaving  certificate 

examination,  which  is   held  annually 

eavmg  .^  June.     This  examination  arose  out 

Certificate.  ■' 

of  a  suggestion  that  some  certificate 

should  be  associated  with  the  inspection  of  higher  class 
schools,  and,  after  inviting  the  opinion  of  managers 
of  secondary  schools  and  the  University  authorities, 
it  was  decided  that  a  uniform  examination  should  be 
conducted  for  all  secondary  schools  desiring  it.  The 
subjects  of  examination  were  English,  Latin,  Greek, 
French,  German,  mathematics  (including  arithmetic), 
arithmetic  only,  geometrical  conies,  analytical  geometry, 
dynamics,  and  differential  calculus.  To  these  book- 
keeping and  commercial  arithmetic  have  since  been 
added.  Three  grades  of  certificates  are  given — lower, 
higher,    and    honours.     The    higher    is    intended    to 


26o         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

correspond  with  the  preliminary  examination  of  the 
Scottish  Universities,  and  the  honours  to  the  Indian 
Civil  Service  examination  or  others  of  the  same 
standard.  At  first  the  examination  was  confined  to 
purely  secondary  schools;  but  since  1892,  when  the 
Secondary  Education  grant  was  assigned  to  the  Depart- 
ment, the  higher  departments  of  State-aided  schools 
have  been  admitted,  and  more  recently,  pupil  teachers. 
In  1888  29  secondary  schools  presented  972  candidates, 
who  took  4300  papers,  and  gained  2334  certificates. 
In  1896  70  higher  class  schools  and  259  State-aided 
schools  presented  15,700  candidates,  who  took  48,000 
papers,  and  gained  nearly  20,000  certificates.  Every 
successful  candidate  obtains  a  separate  certificate  for 
each  subject  in  which  he  has  passed,  and  these  are 
accepted  in  lieu  of  preliminary  examinations  by  the 
English  and  Scottish  Universities,  and  by  the  medical, 
legal,  and  other  professional  examining  bodies.  At 
first  a  fee  of  2s.  6d.  per  paper  was  charged  to  meet 
expenses;  but  except  in  the  case  of  private  schools, 
the  cost  is  now  mainly  borne  by  the  Secondary 
Education  grant. 

One  noteworthy  feature  is  that  the  examination  is 
not  set  on  prescribed  work,  and  in  this  way  it  is  hoped 
.  .        .  ,  to  prevent  "cramming"  for  it.     Also 

Minimise  the    Department    do   not    allow   one 

Cramming  and  school  to  be  compared  with  another. 
Competition.  ^^^    beyond    sending    the    results    of 

the  examination  of  candidates  from  a  particular 
school    to    the    managers    of   that    school,    they    do 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  261 

not  issue  any  information  except  of  a  general 
character.  Apart  from  this,  comparison  is  rendered 
difficult  by  the  fact  that  while  in  some  schools  classes 
are  presented  as  a  whole,  in  others  only  selected 
pupils  are  sent  forward. 

A  general  report  on  the  way  in  which  the  papers 
in  each  subject  have  been  worked  is  issued  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Scotch  Education  Department  in  his 
capacity  of  Director  of  Secondary  Education.  The 
examination  is  open  to  all  schools  giving  higher 
instruction,  whether  public  or  private;  and  girls  are 
admitted  to  it  equally  with  boys.  Its  success  has  been 
such  that  it  has  almost  superseded  the  University  Local 
Examinations,  so  long  the  goal  of  secondary  schools. 

One  other  examination  of  recent  institution  deserves 
mention,  though  it  will  be  dealt  with  in  its  proper 
place  —  the  Preliminary  Examination  of  the  Scottish 
Universities.  Such  an  examination  existed  prior  to 
1889;  but  only  students  desirous  of  taking  their  course 
in  three  instead  of  four  years  were  required  to 
pass  it.  For  the  last  few  years,  however,  it  has  been 
obligatory  on  all  who  wish  to  graduate.  The  absence 
of  such  an  examination  previously  was  probably  due 
to  the  want  of  a  complete  system  of  secondary 
education.  Since  its  institution  it  has  proved  of 
considerable  service  in  maintaining  the  ideal  of  the 
schools  which  prepare  for  the  universities. 

The  Science  and  Art  Department  has  also  con- 
tributed something  to  higher  education  in  Scotland. 
Its  grants  have  encouraged  classes  for  science  and  art 


262         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

not  only  in  evening  schools  but  in  many  day  schools. 
The  arrangements  for  organized  science  schools  have, 
Work  of  the  however,  not  been   largely  taken   ad- 

Science  and  Art  vantage  of.  Probably  the  difference 
Department  between  England  and  Scotland  in  this 

respect  is  due  to  the  fact  that  in  England  the  grant 
for  such  schools  was  the  only  grant  available  for  higher 
grade  schools,  whereas  in  Scotland  the  payment  of  the 
ordinary  Parliamentary  grant  on  scholars  up  to  eighteen 
years  of  age,  instead  of  simply  to  the  seventh  standard, 
has  given  managers  greater  freedom,  and  put  it  in  their 
power  to  provide  secondary  instruction  even  in  ordinary 
State-aided  schools. 

For  the   same  reason,   probably,  Scotland   has   few 

schools   which    can    be    considered    strictly    technical 

beyond  a  small  number  of  endowed 

-    ,      ,.  institutes.      The     Technical    Schools 

Instruction. 

Act  of  1887  has  been  almost  a  dead 
letter,  and  there  is  understood  to  be  only  one  School 
Board  which  has  taken  advantage  of  it  to  erect  a 
technical  school.  The  money  which  fell  to  Town  and 
County  Councils  in  Scotland  under  the  Local  Taxation 
(Customs  and  Excise)  Act,  1890,  has  not  been  so 
generally  applied  to  education  in  Scotland  as  in 
England.  In  a  number  of  cases  the  amount  was  too 
small  to  be  of  much  use,  and  in  others  a  fatal  delay 
was  caused  by  a  doubt  as  to  whether  the  money  could 
be  handed  over  except  to  School  Boards.  This  doubt 
was  finally  removed  only  in  1892  by  an  amending 
Act. 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION  263 

But  although  nominally  technical  instruction  makes 
itself  little  conspicuous  in  Scotland,  in  reality  a  great 
many  subjects  that  rank  elsewhere  as  technical  are 
efficiently  taught  in  day  or  evening  schools.  The 
Education  Department  are  probably  right  in  assuming, 
as  they  have  done  in  recent  Blue  Books,  that  the 
Boards  consider  technical  instruction  "not  so  much 
as  a  separate  question,  but  rather  as  one  belonging  to 
the  higher  sphere  of  education  generally." 

At  present  the  Department  are  seeking  to  induce 
Town  and  County  Councils  to  transfer  the  administra- 
tion of  funds  available  for  education  to  the  Secondary 
Education  Committees  described  already.  These  funds 
are  the  residue  grant  of  1890,  which  may  be  applied 
to  technical  education,  and  a  sum  of  ;£■!  00,000  allotted 
by  the  Act  of  1892,  which  provided  the  grant  for 
secondary  education.  This  latter  sum  may  be  used 
for  relief  of  rates  or  for  schemes  of  "public  utility" — 
a  term  which  was  understood  to  cover  education.  The 
money,  however,  has  already  been  assigned  for  other 
purposes,  and  it  is  scarcely  to  be  hoped  that  much 
of  it  will  be  withdrawn  from  its  present  uses. 


Section   III. 
Dibber  i6t)ucatton. 

(a)  University  Education. 

The  first,  and  for  some  time  the  only  formal  recog- 
nition by  the  Scottish  Universities  of  the  educational 

needs  of  girls  and  women  was  the 
University  Local  -^^^-^^^^^^^  ^f  ^^e  University  Local 
Examinations.  ^ 

Examinations,  which  may  be  said  to 

have  in  some  sort  formed  a  connecting  link  between 
Secondary  and  Higher  Education.  This  movement 
began  by  the  admission  of  women  to  the  local  exam- 
inations of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  in  1865. 
In  St.  Andrews  in  1864,  in  Glasgow  in  1877,  and  in 
Aberdeen  in  1880,  similar  examinations  were  organized, 
which  from  their  beginning  were  open  to  girls.  All 
these  examinations  were  attended  by  greater  numbers 
of  girls  than  of  boys. 

In  all  the  four  Universities  there  were  three  grades 
of  examination :  the  preliminary  or  common  subjects, 
the  junior  certificate,  and  the  senior  certificate.  In 
addition  to  these,  the  University  of  St.  Andrews 
instituted,    in    1876,    a    more    advanced    examination 

(for  women   only)   for  the   Diploma  of  L.L.A.   (Lady 
264 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  265 

Literate  in  Arts);  and  the  University  of  Glasgow 
granted,  in  1879,  in  response  to  a  request  from  the 
Glasgow  Association  for  the  Higher  Education  of 
Women,  the  Higher  Local  Examination  for  Women. 
All  grades  of  the  examinations  were  taken  advantage 
of  by  girls  educated  in  public  and  private  schools  and 
by  home  study.  Special  oral  classes  were  organized 
in  St.  George's  Hall,  Edinburgh,  classes  for  instruction 
by  correspondence  in  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  to 
prepare  women  students  for  them,  and  bursaries  were 
offered  to  successful  candidates.  These  examinations 
were  continued  in  the  four  Universities  until  1893, 
when  they  were  superseded  by  the  University  Preliminary 
Examinations,  and  the  leaving  certificate  of  the  Educa- 
tion Department  (previously  mentioned).  The  junior 
and  senior  examinations,  however,  are  still  carried  on 
by  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  the  examinations 
for  the  diploma  of  L.L.A.  by  St.  Andrews. 

The  wish  which  had  for  some  time  existed  in  Scotland 
that  facilities  might  be  given  to  women  for  obtaining 
Associations  for  education  higher  and  better  than  that 
the  Higher  which    could    be    acquired    in    their 

Education  of  school  days,   and  for  participating  to 

some  extent  in  the  advantages  offered 
to  men  by  the  Universities,  found  voice  almost  simul- 
taneously in  the  four  University  towns.  St.  Andrews 
was  the  first  to  form  an  Association  for  the  Promotion 
of  the  Higher  Education  of  Women,  in  1868.  This 
association  organized  courses  of  lectures,  to  be  given 
to  women  by  the  University  professors,  which  after  a 


266  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

few  years  were  discontinued  on  account  of  the  small 
number  of  students  attending  them.  The  University 
classes  were  opened  to  women  in  1892. 

In  Edinburgh  a  Ladies'  Educational  Association  was 
formed  in  1869,  which  was  changed  a  few  years  later 
into  the  Association  for  the  University  Education  of 
Women.  Classes  were  conducted  for  this  association 
by  professors  and  lecturers,  in  rooms  rented  by  its 
committee;  and  in  1874  the  University  of  Edinburgh 
granted  a  certificate  in  arts  to  students  of  the  association 
who  had  attended  classes  held  by  professors  or  lecturers 
whose  teaching  qualified  for  graduation,  and  had  passed, 
in  any  three  or  more  science  or  arts  subjects,  special 
examinations  up  to  the  standard  of  the  M.A.  degree. 
These  classes  were  carried  on  until  1892,  when  the 
University  arts  classes  were  opened  to  women. 

In  Glasgow,  courses  of  lectures  to  women  were  given 
by  several  professors  of  the  University  from  1868 
onwards,  but  it  was  not  until  1877  that  the  Glasgow 
Association  for  the  Higher  Education  of  Women  was 
founded.  Under  its  auspices,  systematic  courses  were 
organized  in  University  subjects  (with  the  addition  of 
modern  languages  and  literatures  and  history),  some 
of  which  were  given  in  the  University  class-rooms,  and 
others  in  a  hall  rented  by  the  association  for  the 
purpose.  These  went  on  for  six  years,  until,  in  1883, 
the  association  was  formed  into  a  college  (under  the 
Companies'  Act),  to  which  the  name  of  Queen  Margaret 
College  was  given — in  honour  of  Margaret,  Queen  of 
Malcolm  Canmore,  the  first  patroness  of  literature  and 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  267 

art  in  Scotland.  Two  members  of  the  Executive 
Council  of  this  college  were  appointed  by  the  Senate 
of  the  University,  two  by  the  School  Board,  and  one 
by  the  Merchants'  House.  A  year  later  a  handsome 
building  with  extensive  grounds,  near  the  University, 
was  provided  for  its  work  by  the  liberality  of  Mrs. 
John  Elder.  The  classes  were  removed  into  this 
building,  and  from  1884  until  1892  the  college  course 
was  gradually  more  and  more  assimilated  to  the  full 
University  curriculum  for  the  degree  of  M.A.  In  1889 
new  laboratories  were  built,  with  the  result  that  the 
science  classes  were  increased  in  number  and  complete- 
ness. In  1890  a  medical  school  was  begun  with  the 
assistance  and  under  the  direction  of  some  of  the 
University  professors.  By  1892,  when  the  Universities 
were  opened  to  women,  Queen  Margaret  College  was 
working  on  a  full  University  curriculum  in  arts  and 
medicine,  besides  giving  some  courses  of  lectures  and 
practical  work  in  science — the  courses  in  all  the  faculties 
being,  in  substance  and  in  number  of  lectures,  the  same 
as  those  given  to  the  men  students  of  the  University. 

In  Aberdeen,  a  Ladies'  Educational  Association  was 
begun  in  1877.  The  classes  instituted  by  it  were 
carried  on  for  a  few  years,  but  were  not  continued  up 
till  1892,  for  the  same  reason  as  in  St.  Andrews — the 
difficulty  in  the  smaller  towns  of  obtaining  a  sufficient 
attendance  of  students. 

In  the  course  of  the  twenty  years,  from  1868  to 
1888,  repeated  requests  for  the  admission  of  women  to 
degrees  had  been  made  to  the  Scottish  Universities  by 


268  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

the  various  associations   for  the  Higher  Education  of 
Women  and  other  bodies,  but  in  vain,  the  university 

laws  then  in  force  rendering  their 
Deerees  ^  admission  impossible.     Petitions  were 

therefore  sent  up  to  Parliament  asking 
that  such  change  might  be  made  in  the  laws  as  would 
legalize  University  education  and  graduation  for  women. 
In  1889  the  Universities  (Scotland)  Act  was  passed,  which 
appointed  a  Commission  to  review  and,  where  expedient, 
to  alter  the  constitution  of  the  Scottish  Universities 
on  this  and  other  points  in  which  changes  might  be 
considered  advisable.  After  other  University  legislation, 
the  Commission  issued  an  Ordinance  in  1892  empower- 
ing the  Universities  to  admit  women  to  graduation, 
and  to  make  provision  within  the  Universities  for  the 
instruction  of  women  in  any  of  the  subjects  taught 
within  the  Universities,  "either  by  admitting  them  to 
the  ordinary"  {i.e.  hitherto  attended  by  male  students) 
"  classes,  or  by  instituting  separate  classes  for  their 
instruction  as  might  in  each  case  be  decided  by  the 
University  Court  after  consultation  with  the  Senatus." 

On  the  publication  of  this  Ordinance,  the  Universities 
of  St.  Andrews,  Edinburgh,  and  Aberdeen  opened  their 

ordinary  classes  in  science  and  arts 
Ed^^^?^  ^  ^^  women,  the  teaching  being  entirely 

given  in  mixed  classes.  In  Glasgow 
the  alternative  of  separate  classes  was  adopted;  and 
Queen  Margaret  College,  with  its  buildings  erected 
at  a  cost  of  about  ^^24,000  and  endowments  of  over 
;^25,ooo,    was    transferred   by   its    Executive   Council 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  269 

and  Mrs.  Elder  to  the  University,  and  became  thence- 
forward the  Women's  Department  of  the  University, 
to  be  governed  by  the  University  Court  and  Senate. 
Its  professors  and  lecturers  who  are,  in  most  cases, 
the  same  who  teach  the  men  students,  were  appointed 
by  the  Court ;  and  the  women  students  were  admitted 
to  graduation  in  arts,  medicine,  and  science,  and  to 
all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  male  students, 
including  the  use  of  the  library,  museums,  etc.  Most 
of  the  classes  for  the  ordinary  degrees  of  M.A.  and 
B.Sc,  and  those  for  the  degrees  of  M.B.,  Ch.B.,  are 
held  in  Queen  Margaret  College,  and  for  the  honours 
degree  the  women  students  join  the  honours  classes 
held  in  the  University  Lecture  Rooms.  A  large 
addition  was  made  in  1895  to  the  College  buildings 
for  laboratories  and  other  rooms  in  connection  with  the 
medical  classes,  the  funds  for  which  were  provided  by 
a  donation  of  ;£"5ooo  from  the  Bellahouston  Trust. 

Thus  in  all  the  Scottish  Universities  graduation  is 
now  open  to  women  on  the  same  conditions  as  to  men ; 
and  it  is  being  taken  full  advantage  of.  The  number 
of  women  who  had  graduated  by  September,  1896,  is 
as  follows : 


Arts. 

Medicine 

Science. 

Edinburgh    . 

.     27* 

2 

I 

Glasgow 

.      3 

...      lot      .. 

0 

St.  Andrews 

•      5 

0 

0 

Aberdeen  has  as  yet  no  women  graduates,  but  on 

*  Four  of  these  with  honours. 

t  Of  these,   one  took  honours,   and  one  passed  with  "high 
commendation." 


270         EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

one  lady  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  has  been 
conferred.  The  difference  between  the  number  of 
graduates  in  arts  in  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  arises 
from  the  fact  that  in  Edinburgh  the  M.A.  degree 
was  made  so  far  retrospective  as  to  allow  of  its 
being  conferred  on  students  who  had  taken  the 
pass  certificates  in  arts  instituted  by  that  University 
in  1874*  in  seven  subjects,  and  to  permit  classes, 
taken  by  others  who  had  been  examined  in  at  least 
three  subjects,  to  count  pro  tanto  towards  the  degree. 
In  Glasgow  the  classes  counted  for  the  degree  date 
from  1892  ;  and  most  of  the  students  preparing  for  the 
M.A.  are  working  for  honours,  and  taking  a  four  or 
five  years'  course.  On  the  other  hand,  in  Glasgow  the 
classes  of  the  School  of  Medicine  for  Women,  having 
been  from  the  first  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
preparation  for  the  University  degree,  were  at  once 
recognized  (in  1892)  by  the  University  Court  as  classes 
qualifying  for  the  degree,  whereas  the  recognition  of 
the  Edinburgh  classes  took  place  two  years  later. 

The  number  of  women  students  attending  the  classes 
in  the  Scottish  Universities  in  session  1895-6  was  as 
follows : 

Arts.        Medicine.     Science.      Masic 

Aberdeen       .        .       34  ...       i     ...     —    ...    — 

St.  Andrews  .         .       37  ...     —     ...     —     ...     — 

Edinburgh      .         .     160  ...     —     ...       2     ...       5 

Glasgow         .         .     167  ...     72     ...       3     ...     — 

In  Edinburgh  there  were  also  39  studying  medicine 

*   See  page  266. 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  271 

in  extra-mural  classes,  with  a  view  to  graduation,  and 
35  non-matriculated  women  studying  music  only. 

The  Ordinances  of  the  Universities  Commissioners, 
which  came  into  force  in  1892,  introduced  considerable 
Regulations  for  changes  into  the  regulations  for  the 
University  degrees.     In  accordance  with  the  new 

Examinations.  regulations  all  students  entering  for  a 
degree  in  arts  have  to  take  a  preliminary  examination 
in  {a)  English,  {b)  Latin  or  Greek,  {c)  mathematics,  {d) 
one  of  the  following :  Latin  or  Greek  (if  not  already 
taken),  French,  German,  Italian,  dynamics.  After  this 
has  been  passed,  attendance  on  University  classes  for 
at  least  three  winters,  or  two  winters  and  three  summers, 
is  required  (longer  time  may  be  taken  if  wished) ;  and 
the  student  must  take  classes  in,  and  be  examined  in, 
seven  subjects  for  the  ordinary  degree,  or  five  for 
the  honours  degree,  at  least  two  of  these  being  on 
a  considerably  higher  standard  than  for  the  ordinary 
degree.  Science  students  have  the  same  preliminary 
examination  as  that  required  for  arts,  except  that 
French  or  German  may  be  substituted  for  Latin  or 
Greek,  and  that  mathematics  must  be  passed  on  the 
higher  standard.  For  the  B.Sc.  degree  not  less 
than  three  years'  study  in  the  University  is  requisite, 
including  four  full  courses  of  higher  instruction 
and  practical  or  laboratory  work,  besides  three 
subjects  taken  on  the  same  standard  as  that  of  the 
ordinary  degree  of  M.A.  The  degree  of  D.Sc.  can 
be  taken  five  years  after  that  of  B.Sc,  and  each 
candidate    has    to     present    a    thesis    or    published 


272  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN 

memoir  of  work,  to  be  approved  by  the  Senate  of 
the  University.  For  medical  students  the  preliminary 
examination  includes  {a)  English,  {b)  Latin,  {c)  elemen- 
tary mathematics,  and  {d)  Greek  or  French  or  German ; 
and  the  papers  are  on  a  somewhat  lower  standard  than 
those  of  the  preliminary  examination  for  the  arts  and 
science  degrees.  A  candidate  must,  after  passing  the 
preliminary  examination,  be  engaged  in  medical  study 
for  at  least  five  years  before  the  degree  of  M.B.,  Ch.B. 
can  be  conferred,  and  two  years  more,  and  additional 
examinations,  are  required  for  the  degrees  of  M.D. 
and  M.S. 

All  matriculated  women  students  have  votes  in  the 
election  of  the  Lord  Rector  of  the  University  they 
attend;  and  women  graduates  become,  by  the  fact 
of  their  graduation,  members  of  the  General  Council 
of  their  University. 

During  their  years  of  study,  women  students  may 
Halls  of  ^^^^  advantage  of  the  accommodation 

Residence  for  offered  by  the  halls  of  residence 
Women  Students,  ^j^ich  have  been  opened  for  their 
benefit  in  Glasgow,  Edinburgh,  and  St.  Andrews,  but 
they  are  free  to  live  at  home  or  in  lodgings  if  they 
prefer  it. 

University  Extension  lectures  are  given  in  various 
parts  of  Scotland  in  connection  with  the  Universities  of 
University  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow.     The  volun- 

Extension  tary  examinations  which  may  be  held 

Lectures.  ^y  ^j^e  lecturers  do  not  count  in  any 

way  towards  University  graduation.     These  classes  were 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  273 

organized  chiefly  with  a  view  to  "meeting  the  wants 
of  (i)  ladies,  (2)  clerks  and  other  persons  engaged  in 
business,  and  (3)  artisans  of  all  classes." 

Classes  for  instruction  by  correspondence  were  begun 
in   Edinburgh  in   1876,  and   in   Glasgow  in    1878,  to 

prepare     candidates     for     the     local 
orrespon  ence      examinations  of  the  Universities,  and 

to  assist  in  general  private  study 
persons  who  are  unable  to  attend  oral  classes.  The 
Edinburgh  correspondence  classes  now  prepare  for 
the  Edinburgh  local  examinations,  the  preliminary 
examinations  of  the  Scottish  Universities,  and  the 
LL.A.  examinations  of  St.  Andrews;  those  of 
Glasgow  prepare  for  the  preliminary  examinations  of 
the  Scottish  Universities,  the  matriculation  examina- 
tion of  London  University,  and  the  Cambridge  junior, 
senior,  and  higher  local  examinations.  Additional 
classes  in  literature,  languages,  science,  and  art  are 
formed  for  students  who  do  not  propose  to  take  any 
University  examination. 


Section  IV. 
Uecbnfcal  an^  ptotesaional  jEMtcation 

Provision   is    made   for   the   scientific   education   of 

women,  as  has  been  seen  above,  by  their  admission 

to  the  science  classes  and  laboratory 
Science.  ,    .       ,       ^^  .        .  .         ^, 

work  m  the  Universities.     They  are 

also  admitted  to  the  science  classes  in  the  Glasgow 

and  West  of  Scotland  Technical  College,  and  to  the 

Heriot-Watt  College  in  Edinburgh.     They  thus  prepare 

themselves  for  teaching  science  subjects,  or  for  posts 

in  laboratories,  business,  or  works  where  a  knowledge 

of  natural  science  is  required. 

Towards  the  education  of  women  for  the  profession 

of  medicine  the  first  steps  were  taken  in  1869,  when 

Miss  Jex-Blake,   Mrs.   Thorne,   Miss 

Pechey,     Mrs.     Evans,     and     Miss 

Chaplin  came  to  Edinburgh  and  applied  for  admission 

to  medical  classes  in  the  University.    They  were  allowed 

to  matriculate,  and  to  register  as  medical  students ;  but 

with  regard  to  their  medical  course  of  instruction  many 

difficulties  were  made.     Permission  was  given  at  first 

that  they  should  be   taught   in  classes   separate  from 

those  of  the  men,  with  the  proviso  that  although  the 

274 


TECHNICAL  AND  PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION  275 

medical  professors  should  be  allowed  to  give  such 
classes,  no  professor  should  be  compelled  to  do  so. 
For  the  first  two  years  they  obtained  the  necessary 
instruction,  partly  within  the  University  and  partly  in 
extra-mural  classes;  but  the  difficulty  of  procuring 
the  teaching  and  clinical  work  required  for  the  last 
two  years  of  the  curriculum  was  so  great  that  the 
ladies  had  recourse  to  an  action  in  the  Scottish  Law 
Courts  to  oblige  the  University  to  give  them  such 
facilities  as  would  enable  them  to  complete  their 
medical  education  and  proceed  to  take  the  degree. 
The  legal  decision  was  against  them  in  1873,  though 
by  a  very  small  majority  of  the  judges.  The  ladies 
then  went  to  London,  and,  with  the  co-operation  of 
others,  founded  the  London  School  of  Medicine  for 
Women,  in  1874.  Twelve  years  later,  when,  in  1886, 
the  conjoint  Colleges  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of 
Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  agreed  to  admit  women  to 
their  diplomas  (sometimes  called  the  "triple  qualifica- 
tion"). Dr.  Jex-Blake,  who  had  meantime  taken  the 
degree  of  M.D.,  Berne,  and  a  diploma  from  the  Irish 
College  of  Surgeons,  returned  to  Edinburgh,  and 
founded  there  the  Edinburgh  School  of  Medicine 
for  Women,  in  Surgeon  Square.  At  first  this  school 
prepared  most  of  its  students  for  the  diploma  of  the 
conjoint  Colleges  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of 
Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  as  did  also  the  Medical 
College  for  Women,  Chambers  Street,  Edinburgh,  a 
second  school  of  medicine,  founded  in  1889.  In 
1894    the    University    of    Edinburgh    recognized    the 


276  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

classes  of  both  these  institutions,  which  belong  to  the 
Extra-Mural  School  of  Medicine  in  Edinburgh,  but  are 
not  part  of  the  University,  nor  directly  under  its  govern- 
ment, as  qualifying  for  its  examinations  and  degrees. 
Women  are  not,  however,  admitted  in  Edinburgh  to 
the  classes  of  the  University  professors  in  the  Medical 
Faculty,  as  they  are  in  those  of  the  Arts  Faculty.  The 
students  of  both  the  above  schools  have  facilities  for 
clinical  work  in  the  Royal  Infirmary,  Edinburgh. 

In  Glasgow  the  Medical  School  for  Women, 
which  was,  as  previously  mentioned,  added  to  Queen 
Margaret  College  in  1890,  passed  with  the  College 
into  the  University  of  Glasgow  in  1892,  and  from 
that  date  formed  the  medical  department  for  women 
of  that  University  preparing  students  for  the  University 
examinations  and  degrees.  The  foundation  of  this 
school  was  made  easy  by  the  generosity  of  Mrs.  John 
Elder,  donor  of  the  college  buildings,  who  met  the 
initial  expenses  of  the  first  two  years  of  its  existence; 
and  by  the  most  kind  and  ready  help  of  the  professors 
of  the  University,  some  of  whom,  notably  Professor 
Young,  devoted  much  time  and  trouble  to  its  organiza- 
tion and  improvement.  Several  of  the  professors 
lecture  in  the  school,  the  rest  of  the  staff  being 
appointed  by  the  University  Court.  The  students 
have  the  advantage  of  frequently  seeing  experiments 
and  illustrations  of  the  teaching  given  by  means  of 
the  University  apparatus  and  collections  in  several 
departments,  e.g,  in  Professor  McKendrick's  physiology 
classes  and  in  natural  history.     Clinical  and  dispensary 


TECHNICAL  AND  PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION  277 

instruction  is  given  in  the  Glasgow  Royal  Infirmary, 
where  wards  are  reserved  for  the  instruction  of  women, 
the  Royal  Hospital  for  Sick  Children,  the  Glasgow 
Maternity  and  other  hospitals  for  special  diseases, 
including  the  treatment  of  the  eye,  insanity,  fevers,  etc. 

In  Aberdeen  and  St.  Andrews  women  are  admitted 
to  the  University  medical  classes  for  men ;  also  to  the 
men's  classes  in  Dundee  University  College,  which  is 
affiliated  to  St.  Andrews.  But  as  St.  Andrews  and 
Dundee  give  only  part  of  the  medical  curriculum,  no 
provision  being  made  by  them  for  the  two  last  years 
of  the  course,  both  men  and  women  students  have 
to  take  the  last  part  of  their  work  elsewhere,  in  any 
University  or  medical  school  they  may  select. 

For  the  profession  of  nursing,  women  can  be  fully 

trained   in   the    Royal    Infirmary,   Edinburgh,   and   in 

the   Royal  and   Western   Infirmaries, 
Nursing.  ^,  ... 

Glasgow,   in   two  trammg  homes  for 

nurses  in  Glasgow,  and  in  various  other   hospitals  in 

Scotland.       Special    training    is    given    for    maternity 

nursing  in  the  Maternity  Hospitals  in  Edinburgh  and 

Glasgow,  and  for  missionary  nursing,  in  a  training  home 

for    the   purpose,  at   Westercraigs,    Glasgow.      Special 

preparation  is  given  for  mission  work,  independent  of 

nursing,  in  the  Training  Institution  for  Mission  Workers, 

Burnbank  Terrace,  Glasgow,  and  other  institutions. 

Training  for  teaching  in  schools  is  provided  in  the 

normal   colleges  in    connection   with   the    Established 

Training  of  and   Free   Churches    of   Scotland    in 

Teachers.  Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  and  Aberdeen; 


278  EDUCATION  OF  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN 

in  the  Episcopal  Training  College  in  Edinburgh,  and 
the  Roman  Catholic  Training  College  in  Glasgow. 
Through  the  Government  Education  Department  a 
certain  number  of  "Queen's  scholarships"  are  offered, 
which  are  open  to  men  and  women  who  are  entering 
the  normal  colleges.  An  opening  has  recently  been 
given  by  the  Department  for  some  "Queen's  student- 
ships," which  will  provide  University  education  for 
women  teachers  who  have  been  educated  in  public 
schools,  but  have  not  taken  the  Normal  College 
course  of  instruction.  The  scheme  for  these,  however, 
has  not  yet  been  fully  completed.  The  Universities 
give  courses  of  lectures  on  education.  In  Edinburgh, 
St.  George's  Training  College  prepares  secondary 
teachers  for  their  work  in  schools  or  families,  and  for 
the  examination  for  the  teachers'  certificates  of  London 
and  Cambridge. 

In  Art,  women  have  the  same  opportunities  for  study 
as  men,  all  the  Schools  of  Art  being  open  to  them, 
including  the  Government  Schools  in 
Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  and  nine  other 
towns,  besides  several  Schools  of  Art  conducted  under 
other  auspices.  Government  examinations  in  Art  are 
held  yearly,  and  the  scholarships  and  prizes  are  open 
to  women  as  to  men. 

Edinburgh  is  the  only  one  of  the  Scottish  Universities 

which  has  a  Chair  of  Music;   the  classes  and  degree 

given  in  connection  with  it  are  open 

to  women.      Examinations  in   Music 

are  held  yearly  in  the  large  towns  by  the  Associated 


TECHNICAL  AND  PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION  279 

Board  of  the  Royal  Academy  and  Royal  College  of 
Music;  also  by  Trinity  College,  London. 

In  cookery,  training  is  given  by  the  Schools  of 
Cookery  in  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow;  also  instruction 
in  laundry  work,  needlework,  dress- 
P  making,  millinery,  and  other  subjects 

of  Domestic  Economy;  teachers  are 
prepared  for  giving  lessons  in  these  branches,  and  for 
taking  the  examinations  for  the  diplomas  and  certificates 
of  the  National  Union  for  the  Technical  Education  of 
Women  in  Domestic  Sciences. 

Instruction  is  also  available  in  typewriting,  shorthand, 

book-keeping,  etc.,  for  women  who 
For  Business.  .  ,    ^         ^  1     •       .^ 

wish  to  enter  on  work  m  offices  or 

houses  of  business. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  facts  given  above  that  the 
days  of  inferior  educational  advantages  and  facilities 
for  study  given  to  women  in  comparison  with  those 
offered  to  men  are  in  Scotland  a  thing  of  the  past. 
From  the  Infant  School  up  to  the  Honours  Classes 
and  Degrees  of  the  Universities,  all  possibilities  of 
education  are  open  to  them,  in  most  cases  by  means 
of  mixed  classes,  and  in  others  by  special  classes. 
Women  have  thus  as  good  opportunities  now  for 
preparing  themselves  for  professional  or  other  work  as 
those  which  are  available  for  men. 


Appendix  I. 

THE  PROFESSIONAL  ORGANIZATIONS  OF 
TEACHERS 

Teachers  have  been  the  latest  of  the  professions  to  organize 
themselves  into  trade  or  professional  unions.  The  work  has 
proceeded  rapidly,  so  that  before  many  years  are  over  we 
may  expect  an  unattached  teacher  to  be  quite  rare.  The 
College  of  Preceptors  has  the  honour  of  being  the  oldest 
body  which  recognized  the  need  of  raising  the  teachers' 
status  by  means  of  combination.  In  the  matter  of  teachers' 
registration,  the  College  has  always  advocated  a  separate 
register  for  secondary  teachers,  a  policy  which  has  tended 
to  defer  the  passing  of  a  Teachers  Registration  Bill.  The 
Teachers'  Guild,  on  the  other  hand,  advocates  a  single 
register,  including  both  Elementary  and  Secondary  School 
Teachers.  The  teaching  profession  cannot  now  be  strictly 
termed  unorganized.  The  initiative  has  proceeded  from  the 
members  themselves,  a  fact  of  great  significance,  which 
cannot  fail  to  secure  greater  play  for  the  individuality  of  the 
teacher  when  the  time,  now  rapidly  approaching,  will  allow 
of  the  State  organization  of  Secondary  Education.  The 
uniforming  influence  of  the  Code  and  allocation  of  Govern- 
ment Grant  have  assisted  the  remarkable  development  of 
the  National  Union  of  Teachers,  founded  in  1870.  The 
accompanying  tables  may  help  to  show  how  organization  is 
the  order  of  the  day  in  every  branch  of  the  teaching  pro- 
fession. In  the  organizations  of  Elementary  School  Teachers 
women  lag  behind  men  in  numbers.  This  is  not  the  case 
with  secondary  teachers ;  organized  women  outnumber  the 
men. 

280 


-S    H 


S  2 


0*0 


Op 

s  s 


CUV 

3'T3 
C   tfl   rt 


^  a-^       ■y'~^« 


«  SO 
Oh  o  o 


0) 


?«  fi  0)  £>,£?«  5 

1:2  S'F.^S 

"2  >  S  c  <u  ^ 


6tr  4>  o  I-  <u 

—  5  a,  w  cx-rs 

^1   v._0   S^ 

tJ      i3  °  >  (u 
.S  V.  S  ti  2  6 

n    o   o    CL,  lU 

o 


o'S 


(A 


o2 


^  -C  ^^  c  g  c 
<u  <u  o  53  ^  c 

«   CIhC/3  K   6   rt 


O    0)    »- 

S     '^ 

■  w   O   OT 

§^  ^^ 

.^-^^ 
13  -S  -C  -s 

CO 


c  52  2 


C     M     O 

o 

S.-5| 

0)  i5  « 

''§  s  § 

(U    o    -H 

X    0.2 


o  •  •    ■ 

H  g  ^  6 

5  lu  K^  <u 

2  S  ^S 


3  fat, 


3     (->     Ih     I,     >-l     H     W 

^  S  4J  C3  K  ;S  c 


„  o 

rt'-tt 
9  S- 


n 


« 3 


A 


8    5 


^1 


§1 

ESS 


Ox       5  « 


8. 

00 

00 

2  S 

•^ 

^^Ti 

a;  iS 

0 

-g--^ 

5c5s 

^ 

nal  F 
of  As 
chers. 

.2 

d-mas 
her 
Org 

CO 

Jatio 
tion 
Tea 

i 

Hea 
Scie 

>*  J^ 


> 
Pi 
< 

Q 

i 

o 
tn 

O 


II 


.2,  bfl 


12; 


rS    •«    3 


^•1 


S 


s 


gS2 


Si 


VO  o 


pq 


Cl4 


o  P^ 


03   C 


22 


.i5    c3    5    (U 


C3  <u  > 

"-  •-  5 

1)  4) 

*--  o 

o  O  C   c 

<U  W  o  o 


t  i2 

.2  °  S 

■3  ^  <u 

-  ° 


•^ 


m 


<u 


_Ji   F'.   ^   3 

o 


'  C.2 


<"  .Si 


g  S  g 

S  w^ 

O  00    >, 

W  O    tJ 


.-DC 

b  o  c  « 


si 
I  - 


biO'S 

.S  S3 


S 


2*5 


^8 


fi 


n 


00 


N 

00 


-5.2 


Appendix   II. 

"FREE"  EDUCATION 

It  has  been  suggested  that  an  analysis  of  the  cost  of 
Elementary  Education  might  prove  useful  to  those  who  do 
not  quite  grasp  the  rather  complicated  figures  whose  totality 
equals  the  annual  cost  of  a  child's  education  in  the  Board 
and  Voluntary  Schools.  "Free"  education  is  the  result  of 
an  additional  subsidy  paid  by  the  State  out  of  the  imperial 
taxation.  Every  man,  woman,  and  child  contributes  to 
imperial  taxation,  so  that  now  the  greater  share  of  a  child's 
education  is  paid  by  the  community  at  large.  In  the 
case  of  a  child  in  a  Board  School,  the  next  largest  con- 
tribution is  made  by  the  locality  in  which  such  child  resides. 
It  is  evident  that  the  ratepayers  are  a  larger  class  than  the 
parents.  A  "free"  library  is  usually  maintained  by  the 
ratepayers.  Their  share  in  the  payment  of  a  child's 
education  is  two-fifths  of  the  whole— ^i  out  of  £2  los., 
in  round  numbers.  With  insignificant  exceptions,  Elementary 
Schools  have  been  free  since  the  Free  Education  Act  of 
1 89 1  came  into  operation,  i.e.  September,  1892.  The 
additional  contribution  by  the  State,  which  replaces  school 
fees,  equals  los.  per  child,  and  is  technically  known  as  the 
fee-grant. 

In  the  text  of  this  book  stress  has  been  laid  on  the 
fact  that  Voluntary  Schools  receive  no  aid  from  the  rates ; 
their  managers  usually  object  to  control  by  the  ratepayers. 
Voluntary  Schools  have  also  accepted  the  fee-grant ;  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  only  114  schools,  out  of  a  total  of  nearly 
20,000,  have  refused  it,  though  many  Voluntary  Schools 
charge  fees  for  the  majority  of  their  scholars,  and  only 
accept  the  fee-grant  for  a  certain  number.  Voluntary 
284 


FREE''  EDUCATION  285 

Schools  must  therefore  find  the  ;^i  per  scholar  which  Board 
Schools  obtain  from  the  rates,  or  part  of  the  £\^  from  some 
other  source.  This  they  do  by  subscriptions  from  those 
who  sufficiently  desire  denominational  religious  teaching  to 
pay  for  it,  by  endowment,  and  in  some  schools  by  fees.  The 
rates  are  a  far  more  steady  and  certain  source  of  revenue 
than  subscriptions,  which  do  not  increase  at  the  same  rate 
as  the  children.  Thus,  although  subscriptions  had  slightly 
increased  in  1895,  P^"^  head  they  worked  out  to  6s.  8|d.,  as 
against  6s.  lod.  in  1891.  The  following  tables  have  been 
simplified  to  make  the  analysis  of  cost  more  easy  to  com- 
prehend : — 

£   s.   d. 

A.  Cost  of  child's  education  in  Board  School  .        .     2  10    8 

B.  ,,  ,,  Voluntary  School  .     i  19    o 

A.    Analysis  of  Cost  of  Board  School  Child's  Education. 

£    s.  d. 

From  the  Government  Grant  *  .     018  ^)     Paid  by 

,,        Fee-grant  .         .     o  10  o    (  the  State. 

,,        Rates    .  .         .     I     o  o 

Various  sources  (about)    .        .     o     i  11^ 

£2  10  8 


B.    Analysis  of  Cost  of  Voluntary  School  Child^s  Education. 

£    s.     d. 
Government  Grant 
Fee-grant 
Subscriptions 
School  fees 
Endowment  and  various 


o  18    o)     Paid  by 
o  10    o  1  the  State. 


o    6    8f 

020 

023^ 

£^  19   o 


Before  the  introduction  of  free  education  the  analysis  of  the  cost 
of  education  worked  out  as  follows : — 

■«9'-  I   s.    d. 

A.  Cost  of  child's  education  in  Board  School  .        .278 

B.  ,,  „  Voluntary  School  .     i  17     9 

*  The  figure  given  in  the  Report  for  the  Committee  of  Council,  1895-96, 
19s.  sd.,  may  be  called  an  estimate.  The  increased  attendance  of  that  year 
caused  the  grant  to  work  out  to  i8s.  Bjd.  The  figures  are  here  very  slightly 
manipulated. 


2S 


APPENDIX  II. 

Analysis  of  A. 

£   s. 

d. 

Government  Grant 

.     o  i8 

9h 

Rates      . 

.    o  19 

3i 

Board  School  fees  . 

.    0    9 

If 

Various  .                .            . 

.     0    0 

5i 

£^    7 

8 

Analysis  of  B. 

£   s. 

d. 

Government  Grant 

.    0  18 

0 

Subscriptions 

.     0    6 

10 

Voluntary  School  fees 

.     0  II 

4l 

Endowment  and  various     . 

.     0     I 

6i 

£1  17    9 

It  must  be  understood  that  these  figures  refer  to  "main- 
tenance" only.  A  further  difference  exists  between  Board 
and  Voluntary  Schools,  in  that  the  former  are  built  out  of 
the  ratepayers'  money,  save  in  cases  where  managers  have 
transferred  Voluntary  Schools  to  School  Boards ;  whereas 
Voluntary  Schools  have  usually  been  erected  at  the  cost  of 
the  different  religious  denominations.  For  the  most  part, 
Voluntary  School  buildings  are  older,  less  convenient,  and 
less  adapted  for  teaching  purposes  than  Board  Schools. 

On  the  whole  it  is  probable  that  there  exists  less  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  general  public  to  maintain  Voluntary  Schools 
than  used  to  be  the  case.  The  fact  that  subscriptions  are 
diminishing  per  head  (of  the  children),  and  that  in  many 
cases  the  Voluntary  Schools  have  suffered  by  accepting  the 
I  OS.  fee-grant  in  lieu  of  fees,  adds  to  the  financial  difficulties 
of  managers.  Whether  the  fee-grant  is  profit  or  loss  to 
School  Boards  and  managers  is  largely  a  question  of  North 
versus  South,  town  against  country.  North  and  town  have 
lost,  South  and  country  gained  by  accepting  the  additional 
fixed  contribution  of  the  State. 


INDEX 


Aberdare  Hall:  152 

Aberystwyth  College:  97,  150-1 

Academies,  Rise  of,  in  Scot- 
land: 252-3 

Acland,  Rt.  Hon.  A.  H.  D.: 
61,  201 ;  Motion  of,  202 

Acts,  Education :  Difference  be- 
tween English  and  Scottish, 
238-9 

—  Schism :  Passing  of,  22 

—  Technical  Instruction :  Pass- 
ing of,  201 

Addison,  Joseph :  10 
Adult  Education,Secondary:  107 
Affiliation  Scheme:  160 
Alexandra   Hall :   Opening  of, 

151 

Alford,  Dean:  74 

Ambleside,  House  of  Educa- 
tion: 176 

Anderson,  Mrs.  Garrett:  107,178 

Anstie,  Dr.:  178 

Argyll,  Duke  of :  Speech  of,  20 

Armitage-Smith,  Mr.  G. :  209  ; 
Report  of,  125-6 

Art,  Schools  of:  Number  of, 
106;  Scottish,  278 

Assistant  Masters'  Association: 
284;  Mistresses'  Association, 
284 

Association  for  Education  of 
Women,  Oxford :  138 

—  for  Home  Arts  and  Indus- 
tries: 214-5 

—  Incorporated,  of  Head- 
Masters:  283 


Association  of  Assistant  Masters : 
284 ;  Mistresses,  284 

—  of  Head-Masters  of  Higher 
Grade  and  Organized  Science 
Schools  :  282  ;  Preparatory 
Schools,  284 

—  of  Head-Mistresses :  283 

— Metropolitan  Board  Teachers': 

282 
— Voluntary  Teachers,  National : 

282 

—  Private  Schools' :  284 

—  University,  of  Women 
Teachers:  283 

Associations,  Educational,  of 
Women :  Rise  of,   130 

—  for  Higher  Education  of 
Women  (Scottish)  :  265-6, 
267-8 

Astell,  Mary:  Complaint  of,  9; 

Efforts  for  better  Education, 

124 
Attendance,     Compulsory,     in 

England:  44;   Scotland,  239 

Bangor  College:  150 
Bartley,  Mr.  G.  C.  T.:  23 
Beale,  Miss:  76,  116,  117,  173 
Bedford  College :   76 ;   Unique 

Position  of,  129-30 
Bell,  Dr.  Andrew:  14,  26,  28, 

29,  164 
Bellahouston  Trust,  The :  269 
Bethnal  Green  National  Schools : 

34 
Bills,  Educational :  30 


287 


INDEX 


Birkbeck,  Dr.  Geo.,  and  Me- 
chanics' Institutes:  29,  107 

—  Literary  and  Scientific  Insti- 
tute: 125,  208-9 

Birmingham,  its  supremacy:  34 

Black,  Mr.:  107 

Blind,  Schools  for :  55 

Board  Schools :  Visit  to,  62-9 ; 
Salaries  in,  66 

Boniface,  Bishop :  Views  on 
Women,  3 

Book-keeping  for  Women  (Scot- 
land): 279 

Bostock,  Miss,  74 

Boutmy,  M.  Emil :  107,  224-5. 

Brewer,  Dr.:  127 

Brewers'  Company:  Gift  of,  115 

Bristol  College :  Founding  of, 
1 1 5-6 

British  and  Foreign  School 
Society:  28,  34,  35 

Brougham,  Lord :  Bill  of,  30 

Browne,  Miss  Dudin :  Aid  of,  144 

Bryant,  Dr.  Sophie:  77,  95,  115 

Bryce,  Mr.  Jas. :  74,  75 ;  on 
Women's  Minds,  125 

Buckmaster,  Mr.  J.  C:  189 

Buisson,  M.  F. :  107 

Burgh  Schools  :  249-52  ;  Cur- 
riculum, 251  ;  How  Main- 
tained, 252 ;  Transferred  to 
School  Board,  254-6 

Burgwin,  Mrs.:  55 

Buss,  Miss:  76;  Work  of,  114-S 

Butler,  Mrs.  Josephine:  157 

Caedmon:  15 
Cambridge  University:  2 

—  Local  Examinations  :  81-4, 
92,  114;  Classification  of,  82 

—  Position  of  Women  at :  134-5 

—  Teachers'  Training  Syndi- 
cate:  172 

—  Training  College  for  Women : 
172 

Camden  School  for  Girls:  1 1 5-6 
Cardiff:  University  College,  150, 
152 


Catechism :  Shorter,  242 

—  Church,  Versions  of :  23-4 
Cathedral  Schools:  16-7 
Cavendish,  Lady  F. :  95 
Central  Society:   Founding  of, 

35 

—  Technical  College:  216 
Certificate,  Leaving  (Scottish): 

259-60 
Cost  of  Education  in  Scotland : 

248 
Chambers,  Dr.  King:  178 
Chantry  Schools :  i 
Chaplin,  Miss :  274 
Charity  Commission :  87-91 
Cheltenham,    Ladies'    College : 

1 16-8;  Training  Department 

at,  173 
Christ's  Hospital :  Girls  at,  72 
Church:   Control  of  Education 

obtained  by,  2i 

—  of  England  Education  Society : 

35 

—  of  England  Sunday  -  school 
Institute :  35 

—  of  Rome:  Authority  of,  17  ; 
Democratic  principle  of,    16, 

17,  19 

—  Schools  Company 

City  and  Guilds  of  London 
Institute:  210 

—  Companies  and  Education  of 
Girls:  89 

Clare,  Osbert  de :  4 
Clarke,  Mrs.  Charles:  189 
Classes:  Size  of,  in  Elementary 

Schools,  50-1,  66 
Cloth  workers'  Company:  115 
Clough,  Miss  A.  J.:  133,  157 

—  Mr.  A.  H.:  156 
Codes :  Operation  of,  39 
College  of  Art,  Royal,  London : 

102 

—  of  Preceptors:  35,  283; 
Exams,  of,  81 ;  Women  ad- 
mitted to,  128 

—  of  Science,   Royal,  London, 

I02 


INDEX 


289 


Comenius:  his  Views  on  Women's 

Education,  222 
Colet,  Dean:  18 
Commission,  Charity:  87-91 

—  Royal,  on  Secondary  Educa- 
tion: 87,  95-6,  112;  on  Tech- 
nical Education,  201 

—  Schools  Inquiry  :  19,  91  ; 
Report  of,  74-7 

Committee  of  Council :  36 

Competition,  National,  S.  Ken- 
sington: 105 

Compulsory  Attendance:  41 

Congregational  Board :  Found- 
ing of,  35 

Congreve,  William:  10 

Cons,  Miss:  195 

Conscience  Clause,  The:  41 

Continuation  Schools,  Evening: 
54-5  (Scottish),  247 

Convent  of  St.  Helen's :  2 ;  of 
St.  Mary's,  2 

Cookery,  National  School  of: 
188-91 ;  Schools  of  (Scottish), 
279 

Correspondence  Classes,  Univer- 
sity: 163;  Scottish,  273 

—  College,  University:  163 
Cost  of  Elementary  Education :  45 
County  Councils :  and  Education 

of  Women,  216-7;  and  Tech- 
nical Education,  202 

Craik,  Mr.:  21 

Crane,  Mr.  Walter:  106 

Cranmer,  Archbp. :  his  Attitude 
towards  Education,   19 

Curriculum,  Elementary:  47-9 

Datchelor  Training  College :  1 74 
Davies,  Miss  Emily :  1 14  ;  Views 
of,  71,  74,  76  ;  Idea  of  College 
for  Women,  131 
Deaf,  Schools  for :  55 
Dick  Bequest,  The :  253 
Dissenting  Teachers  silenced :  22 
Domestic  Economy :  216  ;  Train- 
ing School  of,  208  ;  Scotland, 
279 


Duppa,  Mr. :  Report  of,  34 
Durham   University:   Founding 
of,  152-3 

Ealdhelm,  Bp.  of  Sherbourne:  3 

Eckenstein,  Miss:  3,  4 

Education  Acts :  Difference  be- 
tween English  and  Scottish, 
238-9  . 

—  Bill,  Mr.  Forster's :  Passmg 
of,  40 

—  Board,  London  Technical : 
203-8 ;  Scholarships  given 
by,  203 

—  declared  free  :  42 

—  Department :  Constituted, 
loi  ;  Scottish,  242 

—  Elementary:  13;  Act,  91; 
Definition  of,  13  ;  Changes 
in,  59 

—  Free  Trade  in :  78 

—  Home,  for  Women :  4,  7-9 

—  Higher:  122-163 

—  National  League :  14 

—  of  the  Poor:  16-7 

—  Views  on,  a  Parent's:  18 

—  of  Girls :  What  has  raised 
Standard  of,  80  seq. 

—  of  Women :  National  Union 
for  Improving,  130 

—  Secondary:  70-121  ;  and 
Technical  Board,  204 

—  Technical :  197-2 1 9  ;  Royal 
Commission  on,  201 

—  Yorkshire  Ladies'  Council  of: 
92 

—  in  Scotland :  229-79  ;  Cost 
of,  248;  Higher,  264-73; 
and  Landowners,  230-1  ; 
Primary,  229-48 ;  Second- 
ary, 249-63 ;  Technical, 
262-3 

Educational      Associations      of 

Women  :    Rise  of,   130 
Elder,  Mrs.  John:  267,  269 
Elementary  Education  Act:  91 

—  Schools :  Weak  Points  in, 
50-1 


290 


INDEX 


Elementary  Schools  inWales :  56 

Elizabeth,  Queen:  8 

Endowed  Schools  Acts:  87-8, 
91 ;  Benefit  to  Girls  under, 
88-91  ;     in     Scotland,     237, 

253-4 
Endowments,  tendencies  of :  91 
Erasmus:  4,  19,  222 
Eton :  Founding  of,  i 
Evans,  Mrs. :  274 
Evening  Continuation  Schools: 

54-5 ;  Scotland,  247 
Ewart,  Miss:  Gift  of,  115 

„       Mr.  Wm. :  100 
Examinations  :   Local,   80 ;    of 

Joint  Board,  86;  Preliminary, 

84 
Examiners,  Female:  in  Art,  183 
Experiment  in  Education^An:  26 

Factory  Act :  Passing  of  the  First, 

Fairfax,  Admiral :  10 
Fawcett,  Mrs.  Henry:  126 
Fearon,  Mr.:  74,  75 
Finsbury  Technical  College:  210 
Firth  College,  Sheffield:  155 
Fitch,  Sir  Joshua:  71,  74,  75 
Free  Education :  42,  284 
Free  Trade  in  Education :  78 
Froebel  Society:  176-7 
Fuller,  Thos. :  5 

Garnett,  Dr.  Wm. :  203 ;  Report 
of,  205-6 

Gasquet,  A.:  5 

Girls'  Public  Day  School  Co. : 
92  ;  First  School  of,  93  ; 
Effect  on  Private  Schools,  94 

—  Public  Day  School,  Notting 
Hill:  118 

Girls,  Special  Subjects  for:  47; 
Scotland,  244-5 

Girton  College :  Admission  to 
Degree  Exam.,  133;  Founda- 
tion of,  131  ;  Memorandum 
of  Association,  132 

Glastonbury,  Abbot  of :  16 


Government  Grant :  36,  235 
Governesses'  Benevolent  Institu- 
tion: 126-7 

—  Private:  Training  of,  176 
Gorst,  Sir  John :  Bill  of,  loi 
"Gracedieu,"  Nunnery  at:  5 
Grammar    Schools  :    i,    18-9  ; 

Exclusion  of  Poor  from,   19, 
20;  Share  of  Girls  in,  71,  72; 
Want  of,  17 
Grant,  Government :  235 ;  First, 
36 ;  Table  of,  37 

—  for  Secondary  Schools  (Scot- 
tish) :  256-8 

Gresham  College:  210 
Grey,  Lady  Jane :  8 

—  Mrs.  Wm.:  92,  220 
Guild,  The  Teachers' :  283 
Guildhall    School    of    Music  : 

[186-7 

Hale,  Sir  Matthew :  9 

Half-timers :  Decrease  of,  40 

Halls  of  Residence  for  Women 
Students,  Oxford:  136;  Scot- 
land, 272 

Harrison,  Miss:  25 

Harrow  School  :  Foundation 
of,  6 

Head-Masters' Conference:  283 

Health  Statistics,  University 
women  :    193 

Herrad's  Garden  of  Delights: 
123 

High  Schools:  77 

Higher  Education:  122-63;  in 
Scotland,  264-73 

Higher  Grade  Schools :  53>7o-') 
92 

Highlands  :  Special  Provision 
for  :  232-3 

Hilda,  St.,  of  Whitby:  15,  123 

Hill,  Miss  G.:  4 

Holloway  College  v.  Royal 
Hollo  way  College. 

Home  and  Colonial  School  So- 
ciety: 35,  1 70- 1 

—  Arts  and  Industries  Associa- 
tion: 214-5 


INDEX 


291 


Home  Reading  Union,  National : 

109-11 
Hopgood,  Mr.:  178 
Horticultural  College,  Swanley : 

195-7 
*•  Hospitals"  (Scotland):  253 
Houghton,  Lord:  74 
House  of  Education,  Ambleside : 

176 
Hughes,  Miss  E.  P.:  173 
Hyde,  Abbot  of:  16 

Illiteracy  in  England :  35 
Incorporated      Association     of 

Head- Masters :  284 
Inspection,  Grant  dependent  on : 

60 
Inspectors :  First   Appointment 

of,  36-7;  Women  as,  49-50 
Institutes,  Mechanics' :  29,  107 ; 

—  City  and  Guilds  of  London :  2 1  o 
Institution,  Postal:  163 
Intermediate     Education     Act, 

Wales  :   96 

—  Effects  of  Organisation:  100 

—  Finance :  98 
International  Exhibition:  198 

Jebb,  Prof.:  on  Short  Courses, 

159 
Jex-Blake,    Miss:    177-8,    274, 

275 
Jourdan,  Miss:  Report  by,  25 

Kennedy,  Miss,  on  Occupations 
of  Newnham  Students  :  135 

Kensington,  Science  and  Art 
Department :  261-2 

Kindergarten  System :  Adoption 
of,  54 

—  Training  Colleges:  171,  177 
King's  College,  Strand :  141-3 
Knox,    John  :   his    Scheme    of 

National  Education:  21,  230, 
250 

Ladies'  Education  Society, 
Liverpool :  130 


Lady  Margaret   Hall,  Oxford  : 

336-7 
Laing,  Rev.  David :  Report  by, 

127 
Lancaster,  Joseph  :   Advent  of, 

26;   Methods,   14,  27-8,  29, 

164-5 
Landowners  and  Education  in 

Scotland:  230- 1 
Langland:  16 

Le  Blanc :  Observations  of,  1 1 
Leclerc,  M.   Max:  Mission  of, 

224-5 
Lindsey,      Rev.      Theophilus : 

Work  of,  25 
Lingen,  Lord:  74 
Liverpool  College:  150 

—  Schools:  Condition  of,  3 1-2 
Local  Examinations:  Effects  on 

Education,  80 

—  Cambridge  Higher  Local :  82 

—  Coll.  of  Preceptors:  81 

—  Joint  Board :  86 

—  London  Matriculation :  84 

—  Oxford  and  Cambridge :  81 

—  Preliminary  Exams. :  84 
London  Diocesan  Board:  Found- 
ing of,  35 

—  Matriculation :  84 

—  School  Board :  52-3 

—  School  of  Economics  and 
Political  Science:  219 

—  School  of  Medicine  for 
Women:  177;  Degrees,  179 

—  Technical  Education  Board : 
203,  208 ;  Scholarships  given 
by,  203 

—  University :  and  Women,  140; 
Successes  won,  141 

Louch,  Miss:  173 
Louise,  Princess:  92 
Luther,  Martin :  Views  on  Edu- 
cation, 19-20 
Lyon,  John  (founder  of  Harrow)  :6 

MacCarthy,  Rev.  E.  F.  M.:  71 
Makins,    Mrs.  :    Prospectus   of, 
73 


292 


INDEX 


Manchester,  Proportion  of  Child- 
ren at  School :  34 
Maria   Grey  Training  College: 

93.  171 
Martineau,  Dr.  James:  74 
Mary,  The  Lady :  8 
Mason    College,    Birmingham : 

153-4 

—  Miss  Charlotte:  176 
Matriculation,  London :  84 
Maurice,  Rev.  F.  D.:  74,  127 
Mechanics'  Institutes:  29,  107 
Medical  Education  of  Women : 

177,  seq, 

—  Scotland,  274-7;  Glasgow, 
276 

Melbourne,  Lord,  Bill  of:  30 
Memorial    to    Schools    Inquiry 

Commission :  1 30- 1 
Mentally  Defective,  Schools  for : 

Metropolitan  Board  Teachers' 
Association:  282 

Middle  Schools:  77 

Milne  Bequest :  253 

Mines,  School  of:  102 

Monasteries:  Charges  against, 
5  ;  Effect  of  their  Dissolution 
on  Education  of  Women,  2, 
11-12 

Monastery  Schools :  1 5 

Money  Grant,  First  Govern- 
ment: 36 

Monitorial  System :  26-7,  164  ; 
Failure  of,  38 

Montague,  Lady  Mary  W.  : 
9-10 

Montgomery,  Miss:  162 

More,  Dr.:  10 

—  Hannah :  10  ;  Work  of,  25 

—  Sir  Thos.:  4,  19 
Mulcaster,  Richard:  7,  71-2 
Mundella,  Mr. :  Act  of,  41-2 
Music :     Guildhall    School    of, 

186-7 ;    Royal   Academy   of, 
185-6  ;  Royal  College  of,  187 

—  Schools:  186-8;  (Scotland), 
278-9 


National  Association  of  Volun- 
tary Teachers:  281 

—  Federation       of      Assistant 
Teachers  :  281 

—  Froebel  Union:  176-7 

—  Home  Reading  Union:  109- 
II 

—  Education  League :  14 

—  School  of  Cookery:  188-91 

—  Society:  Foundation  of,  27 

—  Union  for  Improvement  o 
Education  of  Women:  130 

of  Teachers,  282 

Newcastle  Colleges :  Flourishing 

Condition  of,  153 
Newnham   College  :    Founding 

of,  133 
Normal  School  of  Design :  loi 

—  School  of  Science:  180-I 

—  Training  College :  37 
North  London  Collegiate  School 

for  Girls:  76,  II 4-6 
Nottingham,  University  College : 

1 54-5 
Notting  Hill  Public  Day  School : 

118-9 
Nunneries  :     Conversion      into 

Men's  Colleges,  123-4 
Nunnery  of  Seton :  5 

—  of  "  The  White  Ladies  " :  5 
Nunnery  Schools :   2,    3,    5-6 : 

Defence  of,   3 ;    Restoration 
of,  3 
Nurses,  Training  of:   180;   for 
Scotland,  277 

Oesterberg,  Mme.  Bergman  : 
191-2,  195 

Organized  Science  Schools:  102 

Owens  College :  148-9 

Oxford  :  i  ;  Association  for 
Education  of  Women  at,  138; 
and  Cambridge  Local  Exams., 
81-4;  Conference,  70-1  ;  Ex- 
aminations opened  to  Women, 
84  ;  Position  of  Women  at, 
136;  Regulations  for  Exami- 
nations, 137-8 


INDEX 


293 


Pace:  18 

Page,  Miss:  120 

Parish  Schools:  16-7 

Parliamentary  Grant  v.  Govern- 
ment Grant  for  Secondary 
Schools  (Scotland) :   256-8 

Pattison,  Mark:  156 

Payment  by  Results :  Disappear- 
ance of,  60;  Effects  of,  103, 104 

Pechey,  Miss,  274 

Peel,  Sir  Robert :  Bill  of,  30 

Physical  Training  College :  Dart- 
ford  Heath,  191 

of  Women:  191-5 

Piers  Plowman:  16 

Plumptre,  Dean:  127 

Polytechnics:  107,  206;  Batter- 
sea,  206-7 

Poor,  Education  of:  16-7,  19,  20 

Poor  Law  Schools :  56 

Population,  Child  :  42 

Postal  Institution  :  University 
Examination,  163 

Praise  of  Virgins:  3 

Pre-Reformation  Schools  in 
Scotland  :  230 

Preceptors,  College  of:  35,  283  ; 
Examinations  of,  81 

Primary  Education  in  Scotland : 
229-48 

Private  Schools'  Association  : 
284;  in  Scotland,  237,  253-4 

Private  Schools,  Improving:  112 

Proctor,  Miss:  116 

Professional  and  Technical 
Education  (Scotland) :  274-9 

—  Organizations  of  Teachers,  281 

Pupil  Teachers  :  165-6 ;  Em- 
ployment of  (Scotland), 
234-5 ;  Inauguration  of,  38-9 ; 
Size  of  Classes,  51 

Centres :  53-4 

Queen  Margaret  College,  Glas- 
gow: 266-7,  268-9 

Queen's  College,  London  :  76  ; 
Opening,  127  ;  Progress, 
128-9,  130;  Pupils,  128 


Ragged  School  Movement:  26 

Union :  Founding  of,  35 

Raikes,   Mr.   Robert,  and  Sun- 
day Schools  :  25 
Reading,   University  Extension 

College  :  160-1 
Reformation     and     Education : 

18-9,  20;  in  Scotland,  20-1 
Reform  Bill  of  1832:  12 
Register,  Numbers  of  Children 
on:  43 

—  Teachers',  Absence  of:  78-9 
Reid,  Mrs.  John:  128 
Revised  Code :  39 

Richter,  Jean  Paul:  125 

Ridley,  Bp. :  on  Christ's  Hos- 
pital, 72 

Ridley,  Miss,  Author  of  Frances 
Mary  Buss :  114 

Rigg,  Miss  C. :  174 

Rogers,  Rev.  Wm.:  171 

Rome,  Church  of:  Authority  of, 
1 7  ;  Democratic  Principle  of, 
16,  17,  19 

Rooper,  Mr.  T.  G.:  212 

Roscoe,  Sir  Hy. :  201 

Royal  Academy  of  Music:  185 

—  College  of  Art :  18 1-2 

—  College  of  Music:  187 

—  College  of  Science:  181 

—  Commission  on  Secondary 
Education  :  Report  of,  217 

—  Female  School  of  Art  : 
184-5 

—  Holloway  College:  145-8 

—  School  of  Mines  :  102 
Russell,    Lord   John  :    Reform 

Bill  of,  12 

Sadler,   Mr.    M.    E.  :   61  ;    on 

University  Extension,  157 
St.  Helen's  Convent :  2 

—  Hilda's:  136,  174 

—  Hughes':  137 

—  Mary's  Convent :  2 
Salaries :     44-5 ;      Elementary 

Teachers'  (Scotland),  246 
Sandon,  Lord:  Act  of,  41 


294 


INDEX 


Schaible,  Dr.:  21,  78;  Views 
of,  113 

Schism  Act :  Passing  of,  22 
Scholarships,  Junior:  203;  Inter- 
mediate County,  204 ;  Senior, 
204 
School  Attendance  Committee: 

41 

—  Boards:  created,  40;  election 
of,  239;  Scottish,  Fuller  Powers 
of,  241;  Secondary  Education, 
242  ;  Number  of  Pupils  in, 

243-4 

Salaries  in :  68 

Share  in  Technical  Edu- 
cation :  218 

—  Board,  Visit  to:  62-9 

—  Boarding :  2  ;  Accomplish- 
ments at,  73 

Schools  in  Elizabeth's  Reign: 
Lack  of,  21  ;  General  Con- 
dition of,  31-5 

—  Art, Female,  184-5  '■>  Number, 
106  ;  Scotland,  278 

—  of  Wood  Carving;  213-4 

—  Blind :  55 

—  Burgh :  249-52  ;  Curriculum 
of,  251  ;  How  Maintained, 
251-2  ;  Transferred  to  School 
Board,  254-6 

Schools :  Camden,  for  Girls,  115- 

6  ;  Chantry,  i ;  Cathedral,  16- 

7  ;  Scottish,  230 ;  Collegiate, 
230 ;  Convent,  1 1  ;  Cookery, 
National,  188-91 ;  Scottish, 
279;  Day,  2;  Deaf,  55; 
Domestic  Economy,  208 ; 
Elementary,  50-1  ;  Endowed, 
87-8;  Scottish,  237,  253-4; 
Evening  Continuation,  54-5  ; 
Scottish,  247  ;  Girls'  Public 
Day  School  Co.,  92,  93,  94; 
Grammar,  i  ;  Share  of  Girls 
in,  71,  72;  Guildhall  School 
of  Music,  186-7  ;  High,  ^^  ; 
Higher  Grade,  53,  70-1,  92  ; 
Liverpool,  31-2;  Medicine, 
London,  177,  179;  Scottish, 


274-7  ;  Middle,  77  ;  of  Mines, 
Royal,  102;  Monastery,  15; 
Music,  186  -8  ;  Scotland,  278- 
9;  National,  at  Bethnal 
Green,  34;  Normal,  of  De- 
sign, loi  ;  of  Science,  180-1  ; 
North  London  Collegiate,  76, 
1 14-6;  Notting  Hill,  118-9; 
Nunnery,  2,  3,  5-6;  Organ- 
ized Science,  102 ;  Parish, 
16-7,  21-2;  Scottish,  230, 
233  ;  Parliamentary,  232-3  ; 
Poor  Law,  55-6;  Pre-Refor- 
mation,  230;  Private,  112-3; 
Scottish,  237,  253-4;  Ragged, 
26, 35  ;  St.  Paul's,  18 ;  Science, 
92,  180-1  ;  Secondary,  259 ; 
Side,  233  ;  Skinners',  1 19-21 ; 
Sang,  230;  Sunday,  25-6; 
Voluntary,  62-9. 
Schools  InquiryCommission :  19, 
91  ;  Report  of,  74-7 

—  Society,  Home  and  Colonial : 
170-1 

Science  and  Art  Department, 
Kensington  :  icx)-7 ;  Recent 
Changes,  105  ;  Elasticity 
of,  103  ;  Examinations,  105  ; 
Functions,  102 ;  Inspection, 
169-70;  National  Competi- 
tion in  connection  with,  105- 
6 ;  Scottish,  261-2 

—  Royal  College  of:  18 1 

—  Schools :  92 

Scotland :  Education  in,  229-79 
Scott,  Miss  Charlotte  :  133 
Secondary  Education:  70-121  ; 
Adult,  107  ;  Report  of  Royal 
Commission  on,  217  ;  Schools 
for    Girls,     114-6;    Scottish, 
249-63  ;  Inspection  of,  259 
Segur,De:  on  Englishwomen,  ID 
Seton :  Nunnery  at,  5 
Settlements,  University:  108 
Sewell,  Mr.:  156-7 
Sexes:  Proportion  of,  engaged 

in  Teaching,  166-7 
Sherbourne,  Ealdhelm,  Bp.  of:  3 


INDEX 


395 


Shirreff,  Miss:  92,  171 
Shorter  Catechism :  242 
Sidgwick,  Mrs.  Henry:  95,  107; 

Report  on  Health,  193  4 
Skinners'  School:  1 19-21 
Sloyd  System:  211- 12 
Smith,  Mr.  Llewellyn :  201 

—  Rev.  Sydney:  125 
Smollett,  Tobias:  10 

Society  for  Promoting  Christian 

Knowledge :  22,  23,  35 
Somerville  Hall,  Oxford:  136-7 

—  Mrs.  Mary:  lo 

South  Kensington,  Science  and 
Art  Department:  180-4 

—  London  Technical  Art  School: 
211 

Specialization,  Early:  47 
Stanley,  Dean:  74 
Stansfeld,  Mr.  Jas.:  178 
State  Control  of  Education  :  36 
Statistics,  Table  of:  43-4 
Steele,  Rich.:  10 
Stuart,  Prof.  Jas.:  92,  157 
Sunday  Schools :  25-6 
Swift,  Dean:  10 

Teachers,  Cambridge,  Training 
Syndicate:  172 

—  Dissenting,  Measures  against: 
22 

—  Efficiency  of  Scottish :  235-7 

—  Elementary,  Scottish :   Sala- 
ries, 246 ;  Training  of,  245-6 

—  Guild :  283 

—  Inefficiency  of:  33 

—  Maria  Grey  Training  College 
for  Secondary :  93 

—  Metropolitan  Board  Teachers' 
Association:  282 

—  National  Association  ofVolun- 
tary :  282 

—  National  Federation  of  Assist- 
ant :  282 

—  National  Union  of:  282 

—  Professional  Organizations  of: 
281 

—  Position  of:  79-80 


Teachers,  Pupil,  Employment 
of,  in  Scotland :  234-5 

—  Register,  Absence  of:  78-9 

—  Registration  Bill:  18 

—  Salaries :  168-9  '■>  Scottish,  246 

—  Scarcity  of  qualified:  17,  18 

—  Training  of:  27-8,  37,  164- 
77  ;  Scottish,  245-6,  277-8 

—  Training  and  Registration 
Society:  93 

—  University  Training  Associa- 
tion of  Women :  283 

—  Women,  Appointment  of,  in 
Scotland :  233-5 

—  Women:  Improved  Education 
of,  94 

Technical  Art  School,  South 
London:  21 1 

—  College,  Central:  210 

—  College,  Finsbury:  210 

—  Colleges  for  Women  :  188-97 

—  Education:  197-219 

—  Education  Board :  204 

—  Education  and  County  Coun- 
cils :  202  ;  Royal  Commission 
on,  201  ;  Share  of  School 
Boards  in,  218 ;  Share  of 
Women  in,  215-6;  Scottish, 
262-3,  274-9 

—  Instruction  Act :  201 
Thome,  Mrs  :  178,  274 
Toynbee  Hall:  108-9 
TrainingCollegefor  Women :  172 

—  Colleges  for  Men:  174-5 

—  Colleges :  Number  of  Students 
in,  167 

—  Colleges:  Cheltenham,  173; 
Datchelor,  174;  Maria  Grey, 
171-2 

—  College,  Physical,  Dartford 
Heath  :    191 

—  for  Kindergarten  Teachers : 
171 

—  of  Nurses :  180;  Scottish,  277 

—  Physical,  of  Women:  191-5 

—  of  Private  Governesses:  176 

—  School  of  Domestic  Econ- 
omy :  208 


296 


INDEX 


Training  for  SecondaryTeachers: 

270-7 
Trench,  Archbishop:  127 
Trinity  College,  Music:  188 

Understaffing,     in     Elementary 

Schools  :  63 
Universities:  1,2;  Progress  of,  18 
University  Association  of  Women 

Teachers:  283 

—  College,  Bangor,  150;  Bristol, 
155-6;  Cardiff,  150,  152; 
Durham,  152-3;  Liverpool, 
150;  London,  141-2  ;  Mason 
College,  Birmingham,  153-4; 
Newcastle,  153;  Nottingham, 
154-5  ;  Owens  College,  Man- 
chester, 148-9 

—  Colleges :  Women's  Share  in, 
148-56 

—  Correspondence  College :  163 

—  Degrees  for  Women,  Attempt 
to  open,  Cambridge :  135  ; 
Scottish,  264-5,  268-9 

—  Examination,  Postal  Institu- 
tion: 163 

—  Examinations  for  Women  : 
Regulations  for,  271-2 

—  Extension  College,  Colches- 
ter, 160  ;  Exeter,  16 1-2  ; 
Reading,   160-1 

—  Extension:  107,  130,  156- 
63  ;  Scotland,  272-3 

—  Local  Examinations  :  80  ; 
Scottish,   264 

—  Settlements:  108 

—  Victoria:  148 

—  of  Wales:  150-2 

Victoria  University:  148 


"Virtues":  9 

Voluntary  School :  Visit  to,  62- 
9  ;  Salaries  in,  64 

Wales :  Education  in.  History  of, 
56-9 ;  Intermediate  Education 
in,  96-100;  University  of, 
150-2 

Warham:  his  Position  towards 
Education,  19 

Watson,  Mrs.:  196 

Webb,  Mrs.  Sidney:  203 

Welldon,  Miss:  174 

Wells,  Mr.  Sidney:  207 

Westfield  College:  Foundation 
of,  144 

" White  Ladies,  The":  5 

White,  Mr.  R.  G.:  74 

Wigram,  Rev.  J.  Cotton :  169 

Willard,  Miss  Frances :  74 

Wollstonecraft,  Mary:  124 

Women :  Career  for,  1 1 

—  Education  of:  General  Sur- 
vey, 1-12;  Higher,  6,  7,  8-10; 
in  1 2th  Century,  122-3;  Con- 
trasted with  Men's,  11,  12 

—  as  Inspectors:  49-50 

—  Neglect  of  their  Interests :  74 

—  Position  of:  2,  3,  4,  11-12 

—  Students :  Hall  of  Residence 
for,  272 

Women's  Educational  Journal : 

93 

Woods,  Miss:  171 
Wycliffe :  Teaching  of,  18 

Yorkshire  College,  Leeds : 
149-50 

—  Ladies'  Council  of  Education : 
92 


PLYMOUTH 
WILLIAM    BRKNDON   AND  SON,    PRINTBRS. 


364 


-:i5 


v 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
Rl       University  of  California  Library 


or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
BIdg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

•  2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 
(510)642-6753 

•  1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing 
books  to  NRLF 

•  Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made 
4  days  prior  to  due  date 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 
AUG  2  7  2003 


.E' 


DD20  15M  4-02  « 


<^03a43t35' 


